


Marauding at Hogwarts: Year 4

by 221authoronbakerst



Series: The Marauders at Hogwarts [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-19 22:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 100,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14882399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/221authoronbakerst/pseuds/221authoronbakerst
Summary: The Marauders are back to reek havoc and solve mysteries! (Who the fuck actually knows how to write a summary?! Teach me! Please!)





	1. Another Year at Hogwarts

For the past three years, the first of September was celebrated by our marauders in many ways for the lack of parental supervision. In the first year, they set dung bombs off on the train, spilt pumpkin juice all over Hestia Jones's new robes, and "got lost" on the way to their dormitory ending up in the teacher's lounge stealing Professor Slughorn's liquorice wands and treacle tarts.

In the second year, they (James) took the sorting hat while Professor McGonagall was introducing herself to the first years (it took them an hour to find it sitting atop a Gargoyle's head.)

In the third year, they (with the help of Peeves the Poltergeist) bombarded Severus Snape with water balloons and then later took James to the hospital wing after Lily Evans "accidentally" tripped into him and forced him onto his plate of hot, greasy sausages. This year they planned to do something different, something that involved the staff, namely their Headmaster.

They had been discussing it for the entire train ride. Professor Dumbledore would stand up, welcoming the first years to Hogwarts, announce that Mr Filch had gone into retirement (one can dream,) probably make some remark about Voldemort and his Death Eaters officially existing as of this summer (via the Daily Prophet) and how they are perfectly safe at Hogwarts all the while the curtains behind him would be performing their interpretive dance. They practised the charm many times on their new dress robes (thankfully they didn't burst into flames) and found pleasing results.

They were ready. They rode up to the castle in their carriage wearing masks of boredom because they were assigned to sit with Alice Prewet, a prefect. (Sirius and James may or may not have made some questionable remarks about her and Frank's relationship in reference to their game of truth or dare in the previous year during the entire ride up to the castle.) They made their way to the Great Hall, waving to people they didn't see on the train.

"Oi, Evans!" James shouted, spotting Lily about to walk through the doors unusually not surrounded by her friends. Lily spun around searching through the sea of people with a look of anticipation on her face. Upon seeing James her face fell.

"Not now, Potter," Lily said tightly.

"What's wrong? Did Snivellus decide not to show up this year?" James laughed, nudging Sirius with his elbow.

"We're not that lucky," Sirius grinned.

"He's here, thankfully," Lily said bitterly, narrowing her eyes at the pair.

"So that's what it is? Finally saw what a slimy git he is?" James asked.

"Oh, just bugger off!" Lily spun on her heels, whipping her hair out behind her and strode into the Hall. James sent Sirius a questioning look. Sirius shrugged and they swaggered in to find Remus and Peter laughing with Frank Longbottom.

The Great Hall looked as it usually did. Hundreds of floating candles lit the room, the enchanted ceiling reflected the starry night sky, the house emblems hung above the appropriate table, and up ahead sat an empty stool with a raggedy old hat on top. Behind that was the staff table with Professor Slughorn whispering merrily with a young frumpy witch none of them recognised. Professor Kettleburn (the Care of Magical Creatures professor) messaged the stub that was his left arm while listening to Professor Vector, the Arithmancy professor. There was another wizard they did not recognise, he was tall and broad-shouldered and he smiled jovially as he took in the sea of students before him. Two new teachers and Professor Dumbledore were missing from the staff table. As they turned to point this out to their housemates they found that that was what everyone was talking about.

"Perhaps he's helping the ministry sort out their Death Eater problem," Bertha Jorkins said smartly.

"Does that mean he's not coming back?" asked a second year, who looked rather frightened by the thought.

"Maybe he's just fallen asleep in his office," Lily comforted.

"Or he's ill and had to be sent to St. Mungo's," Bertha continued. This set everyone talking at once. Lily groaned and rolled her eyes in exasperation. Mary McDonald placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and Josie Archer took Bertha's hand to walk her down the table to where the older kids sat so she couldn't cause any more chaos. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter listened to the panicked conversation. There were many different theories, all as ridiculous as the ones Bertha had started.

"It does make sense for Dumbledore to help the ministry with the Death Eaters," Sirius remarked.

"He wouldn't leave the school, though. He likes being Headmaster too much," Remus said.

Professor McGonagall walked through the doors leading the first years who looked amazed at the scene around them. The Hall fell quiet. All eyes were glued to McGonagall hoping that she would explain Dumbledore's absence before the sorting.

The sorting hat came to life and started its song. After which they applauded politely, more focused on McGonagall to really appreciate the hat's poetic lyrics. The hat bowed to the four tables and became very still again. Professor McGonagall stepped in front of the first years, holding a long roll of parchment with their names written on it.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. Before she had time to call out the first name the Great Hall burst into hurried whispers again. Finally, the teachers looked at their students with concern. This was not how the sortings usually went. McGonagall stepped up to the staff table and wrapped her wand against it, silencing the whispers. "The elder students are expected to remain quiet while the first years are being sorted," she reminded them.

"But Professor!" James stood and all eyes fell on him.

"Potter, sit down," McGonagall ordered, firmly.

"Yes, but Professor, what happened to Dumbledore?"

"Announcements will be made after the sorting ceremony. Now sit down or you will be removed," McGonagall warned and James sat. The four of them exchanged curious expressions and ignored the rest of the ceremony. They fidgeted with their silverware while Peter checked his map under the table pretending to be picking up a fallen napkin. It only confirmed that Dumbledore was not on the grounds. Once the ceremony had ended they had gained 10 new Gryffindors. McGonagall instead of returning to her seat, stood in front of the Hall waiting for silence to fall.

"I have a few announcements to make before the feast begins!" she called and gained the silence she was waiting for. "First Professor Sprout has decided to take an early retirement and gives his best to all his former students. Second I would like to welcome two new teachers. Professor Sprat will be teaching Herbology." The young, frumpy witch stood and gave a small bow to the applauding room. "And Professor Haas, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts." Professor Haas stood, gave four quick waves to each of the tables his smile never wavering. "Third, as Mr Potter pointed out, our headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, is not currently with us. He would like me to assure you that he is fine and in perfect health and will be back at Hogwarts in no time at all. He would also like me to pass on his sincere apology to the first years that he was not here to welcome you on your first day at Hogwarts.

"And finally, I'm sure you all have been wondering why dress robes have been added to your supply list this year. Your professors have decided that this year we will be hosting a ball." With that, the Great Hall erupted into excited squeals and whispers. McGonagall waited a moment before tapping her wand against the table again. "It is called the Alum Ball. Professor Slughorn has graciously offered to take charge of the event. He has requested some volunteers to help plan and set up. You can speak with him later if you are interested." Professor Slughorn smiled proudly at his students, looking as if he had given them a great treat. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, however, felt nothing but dread for this announcement. "That is all, thank you for your patients and let the feast begin!" McGonagall clapped her hands twice and their plates filled with the usual delicious foods.

With the assurance that Dumbledore was fine and their attentions otherwise engaged the students relaxed and talk of the upcoming ball and not much else. Marlene McKinnon told Alice Prewett that she hopes that Annie Trevisani from Hufflepuff would ask her to the ball. Dirk Cresswell was asking Frank's advice on how to ask Cassie Rosier to be his date. Christopher Hemsley (Frank's dorm mate) already asked Amelia Bones to go with him - she said no. Lily announced that she was now a vegetarian because she wanted to make sure she still fit into her dress once the ball came around. In response, James loaded his plate with roast beef, pork chops, and bacon while holding eye contact with her. Sirius laughed while he watched Hemsley try to ask Florence Brocklehurst without Amelia noticing - she did. Peter wondered out loud to Remus if Mary would agree to go with him. Remus encouraged him to try and he almost did but lost his nerve and asked her to pass the salt instead. James tried to tease Sirius into asking Cindy from Hufflepuff but after nearly burning her hair off during tutoring in the previous year he blatantly refused. They all knew that James was bound to ask Lily, but how and when had yet to be answered.

The ghost had even entered the conversations, encouraging students to ask someone to the ball and even floating across the hall delivering messages. The Fat Fryer had asked James if he wanted to go to the ball with Sally-Anne Perks. James announced that he would be decidedly sick that day. Sirius suggested that they make their way to their dormitory before the girls started really getting bold. So they left the Great Hall, asking Frank for the password on the way out.

"How are the Mandrakes, James?" Sirius asked, making sure the door was firmly shut behind him before he did. The Mandrake leaves proved harder than they thought they would be. Holding it in their mouth for a month was the easy part. Finding dew that had not been touched by sunlight, three chrysalis of a Death's- Head Hawk Moth, and three crystal phials was difficult, given their age especially. They were lucky that the night of the full moon was a clear one.

"They're perfect. I've been keeping them hidden in a pair of old socks," James smirked, biting off the head of a Chocolate Frog. "Have you been doing your incantations?" James asked hoping that neither of them forgot and cause them to have to start the entire process over again.

"Twice daily at Sunrise and Sunset," Sirius smiled.

"Amato Amino Animato Animagus," Peter chanted, proving to James that he hadn't forgotten.

"And you remembered to keep the tip of your wand on your heart?" James said seriously. He had been worried that Peter had forgotten this while he was home and he didn't want to mention it with his house full of ears. To his relief, Peter nodded dutifully.

"Good thing too. With such a dangerous transformation, I would hate for something to go amiss," Remus said, pointedly.

"Yes, it would be terrible if Peter had to spend the rest of his life as half a fish," James laughed. "And don't even think about stealing the leaves! Sirius charmed the heck out of my socks on the train while you weren't looking."

"I just said I didn't want anything to go wrong," Remus said innocently.

"You know, I don't really like that double heartbeat bit," Peter said, grimacing.

"Just imagine what it's going to be like when you actually turn into an animagus!" Remus told him, devilishly.

"Lupin!"

"Remus!"

James and Sirius looked at him furiously. Peter chewed his bottom lip and wrung his hands nervously.

"It's true!" Remus argued. "If your gonna do it, you should know what's going to happen. Read the book, Peter."

"Peter, the heart thing only happens the first time. We already told you that," James soothed, making Peter turn away from Remus.

"Yeah Pete, don't listen to Remus. He's just being a prat because he thinks it's too dangerous for us - that he's too dangerous," Sirius said, glaring at Remus. Remus sighed and took butterbeers from his trunk to pass around.

"Let's talk about something else. James, how are you going to ask Lily to the ball?" Remus asked, sitting on the floor in the middle of the room.

"I already told you, I'm going to be decidedly sick that day," James said, tossing his head into the air and dropped to the floor, crossing his legs.

"Yeah, right!" Sirius laughed.

"He's probably going to ask her every day 'till then," Peter smirked.

"You should probably do it quick. I heard Nick Graves from Ravenclaw saying that he wanted to ask her," Remus grinned.

"Oh, I've got a brilliant idea! Why don't we lightly poison the punch bowl and make everyone sick so the ball will be ruined and they will never try to do this again?" James said.

"I think you should at least give her flowers," Peter said.

"Yes! Dad always uses Orchideous whenever he wants to impress Mum," Remus offered.

"Or we could tell Professor Kettleburn that we've always wanted to learn about trolls. You know he'll bring one into class. And then on the night of the ball, we'll release it from wherever he's keeping it and guide it into the castle. It'll be hilarious!" James laughed.

"Maybe you should write her a poem. 'Roses are red, so is your hair. Please be my date, or it just won't be fair!'" Sirius said, and they collapsed into giggles.

"Please be my date, or it just won't be fair?! Sirius, I am never taking love advice from you," Remus laughed.

"The flowers were a good idea though," Sirius chuckled.

"That's enough you love sick, hopeless romantic, idiots," James laughed, but it sounded forced. "I'm going to bed. Good night." He stalked off to bed, smiled shortly at his friends, then waved his wand to turn out the lights leaving them in total darkness.

"I guess the ginger's a touchy subject," Peter whispered.

"We do keep teasing him about her," Remus whispered back.

"SHHHHH!" James shushed loudly.


	2. The First Loss

As the sun rose over the Forbidden Forest and crept its way into Gryffindor Tower James woke to find that Sirius was already awake. Seeing his messy head peek through his bed curtains Sirius announced, "Good Morning."

James squinted from both surprise and lack of perfect vision. He clumsily reached for his glasses on his nightstand muttering "what are you doing up?"

Sirius shrugged in response. James, now being able to see him properly stared at him incredulously. Sirius, dressed in his school robes, was organising his school supplies. His quills were sharpened to a point, his parchment was neatly stacked and ready for class, his wand and broom looked freshly polished. James's supplies were still wrapped in the brown paper his mother brought them home in.

"I didn't think you were capable of waking up till noon on your own," James said, slowly. Sirius merely chuckled. "Did you sleep at all last night?" James asked, seeing that Sirius's bed was still neatly made, exactly as it had been last night.

"Course I did," Sirius said, not looking up but looking down the length of his quill. Upon inspecting his friend further James noticed dark circles forming under his eyes.

"You look tired," James told him.

"I think I'm still on French time. We stayed for longer than we were expecting," Sirius shrugged again, hoping that James would let the subject drop. James was determined to make Sirius talk to him so he stayed quiet, filling the room with an awkward silence. Sirius's will power almost won but before James could start babbling about their new professors Sirius continued. "My cousin -Andy's sister - got married to that Lestrange bloke. He's just as mental as she is…. It made me realise that I didn't want to live off my parents for the rest of my life and to do that I need a job. Andy did it and she's doing great, even has a baby…. Course I only know because Narcissa ran into her in Diagon alley…." Sirius trailed off wearing an odd, distant expression on his face.

"So we're focusing on our grades this year. Mum'll be thrilled," James said brightly, hiding his concern. "Remus can make us a study schedule. It'll have to work around Quidditch but Cresswell's pretty good at keeping regular practices."

"Good, good. There is one more thing." Sirius took a deep breath and added in a rush, "I've promised my mother that I'll join the Slug Club." James could not do anything but blink at this. "I've got to keep my promises," Sirius said after a long pause.

"Mate, you're not joining the Slug Club," James said with an air of telling him that two and two is four.

"Uh, yes I-"

"No. This is where I draw the line! You can join the Quidditch team. Get all O's, hell you could even make prefect, but you are not becoming a Slug!" James shouted, firmly, rousing the others from their slumber. Remus and Peter sat up and looked confused at the pair in front of them. Sirius made eye contact with all three of them, stuttering before he said;

"James, I made a promise."

"No," James said simply.

"James."

"Show of hands! Who thinks Sirius could do anything else but join the Slug Club?" James stood with his hand raised above his head and watched as Remus slowly raised his hand. Peter looked still confused but raised his hand half way.

"It's not up to you guys, anyway!" Sirius said, making to leave.

"You joining the Slug Club will reflect on all of us!" James argued.

"Oh! So that's what your problem is! You're afraid people will think less of you if one of your mates is in the Slug Club!" Sirius rounded on him.

"You're being a right prat, you know!" James yelled.

"That's not what any of us meant," Peter said through a yawn.

"We've been worried about you ever since we saw you at the World Cup," Remus added, Sirius wavered yet did not back down. "You have to admit that you joining Slughorn's club is a bit weird."

"I made a promise," Sirius repeated. He looked around at the three of them, daring them to protest further.

"So break it!" James roared defiantly and Sirius flared.

"James, he's right! We can't decide this for him, especially if he made a promise," Remus told James, his eyes never leaving Sirius.

"Oh, fuck that! He's only doing this because his parents are forcing him to!" James yelled, finally breaking eye contact with Sirius.

"Did you just swear?" Sirius chuckled weakly.

"He's been doing that a lot recently," Peter smiled, hoping that Sirius's chuckle meant that he had calmed down.

"You can thank Lupin for that," James said, smirking a bit but his voice was still heavy.

"Well don't. It's weird," Sirius said.

"If you can act weird, I can too." James folded his arms and looked stubbornly victorious.

"Fine, we'll all act weird. Remus can start going to class on the full moon and Peter will try to break the detention record. It's bound to be a thrilling year!" Sirius returned.

"That's different!"

"No, it's not! It's exactly the same. I promised my mother, James. You don't think I'll get into trouble at home just like them if I don't?" Sirius argued. James's face fell and for the first time, there was no trace of a smirk.

"So, we're joining the Slug Club." James nodded once and crossed over to his trunk and pulled out his robes.

"You don't have to, James, just me."

"Oh, I know, Pickles. I'm gonna find Cresswell and ask him about tryouts. Peter, are you still gonna ask Maggie about dropping Divinations?" James said, combing his fingers through his hair, trying to calm his bed head.

"Right!" Peter said, jumping out of bed.

"Guess, I should go with you to talk to Cresswell," Sirius said.

"That's Captain Cresswell to you," James smirked.

They had talked so long that James and Sirius were one of the last to leave the common room. The staircase was deserted except for the sound of echoing, hurried steps floating up to them. They thought it might have been Filch, so they paused to check that their shoes were free of mud. It was not long before they realised that the footsteps truly belonged to Eilidh Nicnevin.

Eilidh was marching up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time, with a determined look set on her face. Upon seeing them she stopped short. Sirius found that his tongue suddenly felt heavy in his mouth.

"I need to talk to all four of you. It's important," she said and continued up the stairs seeming confident that they would follow. Sirius shook his head at James, indicating that he did not care to talk with her. He was still angry with her for claiming Lucius Malfoy as family in the previous year. James shrugged and gave an apologetic smile before following her steps. Sirius contemplated going on without him but in the end, he gave an irritated groan and ran to catch up with James.

"What is it?" Sirius asked harshly after the portrait had closed. She had already stopped Remus and Peter from exiting.

"Not here, it needs to be private," she said, strongly. The boys only now noticed the anxiety that seemed to coil off her.

"What's happened, Eilidh?" Remus asked kinder than his friend.

"Let's just say that you were right. Things are much worse than I thought they were," She answered, her lip quivering slightly. She shook her head, hardening her expression. "I'll say no more 'til we get somewhere more secluded."

"There's nobody here," Peter said, observing the empty common room.

"You don't know that," she said with an air of finality.

"Our dormitory," James said, leading the way up the stairs. Once he had reached room number seven, he pushed the door open and starting kicking things out of the way, picking up clothes and shoes. "Sorry about the mess," James said pleasantly. Eilidh entered the room ignoring her surroundings.

"Can we shut the door?" she asked politely and Sirius obliged, being the last to enter. "So, firstly are you guys fighting the Slytherins because they're weird and creepy or because they're supporting… you-know-who?"

"Both," James and Sirius answered together but Remus claimed that it was "only because they're siding with you-know-who."

"Good," she nodded, pointed her wand at the door and muttered "muffliato" before placing herself on one of their trunks. "It's a spell that prevents anyone from listening to our conversation. Lily taught me," she told them answering their questioning looks and Peter's "what was that?"

"Speaking of, does she know you're here?" Remus asked.

"We're not exactly on good terms with her right now," Peter added. Sirius scoffed and James rolled his eyes.

"I haven't seen her at all, actually. I just got here about an hour ago. Mum tried to stop me from coming back because of what happened this summer," Eilidh answered.

"And what happened this summer," James asked, sensing her point. Eilidh took a deep breath.

"The Death Eaters killed a load of muggles in Ireland. 13 women and 5 men. Apparently, the women were dressed as witches for some festival and the Death Eaters took offence and attacked. The men jumped in after seeing the commotion, trying to help… and then they killed them." Eilidh trailed off. Most of this they already knew because it had been reported in the Daily Prophet, but the author seemed so focused on the dark mark appearing in the sky that they forgot to mention the details of the event.

"We heard. But what's that got to do with you?" James asked. Eilidh again took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

"My dad was one of the men that died."

Silence rang throughout the dormitory. They all seemed to be at a loss for words. Eilidh pressed the sleeve of her robes into her eyes to keep the tears from streaming down her face. Peter looked awkwardly at his shoes. James nervously ran his hand through his hair. Remus passed her a handkerchief and patted her gently on the shoulder.

"Bu- but you're a pureblood. A Nicnevin. They've always been pure," Sirius said, voicing his confusion. Eilidh shook her head, still using the handkerchief Remus had given her.

"Everyone assumes I am because I took my mum's surname." She finished drying her eyes and sniffled. "After my mum married Ulric, she got kind of stir crazy and left the wizarding world for a bit. She moved in with my dad and had me but left thinking I was a squib. I was about six when I first showed signs of magic. Dad found Mum again thinking it would be better for me, so she and Ulric took me in, claiming me as their own." She twisted the handkerchief around her fingers, tears streaming freely down her face now.

"So, you took your mum's name and just never told anyone who your father was?" James asked with a note of disapproval. Eilidh shook her head and sobbed.

"James!" Remus shot him a look to silence him. "We're sorry for your loss, Eilidh."

"We are sorry," Peter said, wanting to stop Eilidh's tears.

"Truly. It must be horrible losing your father," James said as delicately as he could. Eilidh dried her face and let out a shaky breath attempting to calm herself.

"Take your time, Eilidh. We don't have any qualms about skipping class," Sirius smiled, sitting next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder hoping to comfort her but only succeeded in making her cry more. Sirius withdrew his hand and placed it awkwardly in his lap. "Were - were you two close?" he asked, trying another means of comfort. She gave an odd sounding giggle and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah - I mean I always felt… normal around him. My mam kinda keeps me separate from everyone else 'cause she's afraid people will find out, but Da - he told everyone about me. Everyone close to him, anyway. He didn't care that I was different," Eilidh shrugged. James sat on her other side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Peter was holding her hand. Remus and Sirius each gave her apologetic smiles. Sirius reached out a hand and patted her head making her laugh. It was the first real laugh, however shaky, they had heard from her and it made them relax.

"So - sorry - but what does this have to do with us?" Remus asked.

"I want to help!" she said, obviously not realising that they hadn't caught on. "I know I said I didn't last year, but I didn't know they were attacking muggles too."

"But why do you care about muggles if you don't even care about muggle borns?" Sirius asked irritably.

"You're even friends with Evans, and Mary, and Josie, and Marlene, but you still said you didn't want to help so what's the difference?" James asked, agreeing with Sirius.

"Muggles are completely different. They're defenseless. Sure, they're clever but they have no idea what's coming. Muggle-borns - they can defend themselves. You've seen Lily in class, she's one of the best. And Mary's brilliant at charms. Even Josie, I've seen her take down three sixth years single handedly and she's probably the worst in our group," she explained. "That doesn't mean that I don't want to protect them. When I said that last year, I… I was scared and I thought I was protecting Lily by staying out of the fight. I don't want to fight in a war anyway, but I can't just sit by and watch defenseless people, my friends and family, get tortured and killed because some dolt thinks he has the right to. So, I want in and I'll talk to the girls about helping too, but I'll understand if you don't want my help anymore," she finished, gasping for breath.

"We'll need to talk about it," Sirius said firmly before any of them could accept her offer. From what Eilidh could see, Sirius was the only one with an objection for her.

"You don't trust me." She said speaking directly to him. "Do you think I'm lying?"

"I trust you enough to know you wouldn't lie to us," he stated.

"Then what?" She asked looking confused and possibly hurt.

"You and I… we're very similar in important ways but it's our differences that are… off putting." He tried to explain as well and as delicately as he could; something in him wanted to run from her but at the same time he was drawn to her. "We need to discuss this before I trust you completely."

"Sirius, I think we should give her a chance to explain herself. We owe her that much. If it weren't for her we'd…" James said subtly gesturing to Remus.

"I agree. We should give her a chance." Remus spoke.

Sirius looked at Peter for defence but he shook his head not wanting to get involved. Sirius sighed and turned to face Eilidh.

"We'll be down in the common room then," James said pulling Remus and Peter through the door.

"Why?" Sirius yelled sounding almost fearful.

"This is between you and her, mate." He grinned before shutting the door.

Eilidh looked almost as uncomfortable as he felt. Sirius moved around the room picking up his clothes as he went.

"We throw clothes everywhere, to keep the house elves out. Don't want them finding anything they shouldn't, " Sirius explained trying to fill the silence.

"Sirius, I don't really like explaining myself." She interrupted.

"Me either." He admitted.

"I hate small talk more." She continued.

"Me too. I just wanted to avoid the awkwardness." Sirius shrugged.

"I'd like to be friends. I feel like we could be." Eilidh started.

"Same here." He said awkwardly as if admitting his feelings.

"We can't be friends if we don't trust each other."

"You don't trust me?" He asked sounding hurt.

"I don't trust people who don't trust me. My mother taught me that." She answered. "I did trust you. You're honourable and always try to do the right thing no matter what. That's what I always loved about my father."

There was a comfortable pause between them. Eilidh looked deep in thought. Sirius was simply speechless. He felt oddly proud of reminding Eilidh of her father, especially after the way she explained it.

"I think I know what you mean about our differences." She nodded.

"You do?" He asked, not entirely sure if he knew what he meant himself.

"You'll do anything for the people you care about, no matter what happens to you." Eilidh started. Sirius felt odd, as if he were seeing himself for the first time. He found no reason to argue with her, he would do anything for them. "I would do anything for my friends and family, really. I know I haven't been acting like it. I'm just so tired of this war! It's pointless and exhausting, and I'm just done with it, or I thought I was. I think I didn't really have anything to fight for. Lily's my best friend, but she's always off with Snape so it's not like you four. And Marlene always hangs out with Alice and her friends, so maybe my dad dying is what I needed," she said starting to tear up again. "I'm sorry." She whipped her eyes and sniffled.

"For what?" he asked, forgetting why he ever felt bad towards her.

"For crying so much, and for what I said last year," she shrugged and chuckled awkwardly.

"I'm not afraid of tears and I suppose, since you seem to be truly sorry, what you said can be forgiven." Sirius smiled pulling a tissue from his nightstand and handing it to her, noticing that the handkerchief was thoroughly soaked. "I do have one more question though."

"Okay." She said shakily.

"How much do you disagree with your family? I know about the muggles and such but what about…." Sirius started not sure if he could out right ask without giving his friend away.

"About werewolves? It's about the only thing we agree on." She guessed. "Why is that a deal breaker for you?"

"Not at all," he grinned. "So do you know…?"

"Know what?" She encouraged.

"Er, a lot about them. I was kind of intrigued by them after that essay last year." Sirius lied.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks for that by the way. You got an O."

"Knew I would," he grinned. "So do you know a lot?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Sirius, my family clings to old Celtic traditions. They believe that werewolves are meant to protect us. So, naturally, we like to keep them around." She answered.

"Like pets?" Sirius asked with his face screwed up in a look of discussed.

"No!" She screamed. "Look I'm done explaining myself. No, they're not pets, they're friends- family, even. No, I don't agree with the importance of blood status and yes I know about your friend if that's what you were really trying to ask."

"Friend? What friend?" Sirius stuttered.

"What?" Eilidh asked, looking as terrified as he felt. She had to have meant Remus.

"You mean…? Remus?" He asked cautiously half cringing, hoping he wasn't wrong.

"Yes." She sighed with relief. "For a second I thought I gave him away."

"Well, you could have always obliviated me." Sirius joked.

"I wouldn't." She smiled shaking her head.

"I know." He said once again shocked by himself. "So, James and I have this theory. You know how werewolves don't pose any threat to non-human animals?"

"Because the curse can only spread through humans, yes." She nodded.

"Well, we kinda thought that maybe the same would be for animagi, even though they are technically human," Sirius explained. She took a moment to think on this before continuing.

"Well, werewolves are always the wolf and the man, one and the same. Just like animagi. You turn into what ever compliments you, so if you, you'd probably be something obnoxious like an elephant, you'd always be the elephant and the man." She explained.

"An elephant?" He asked incredulously.

"You're loud and big. Even you have to admit it fits." She smirked. Sirius opened his mouth to argue but decided against it.

"So what does that mean, will it work?" He asked instead.

"Theoretically it would." She shrugged. "But I don't think it's ever been tested, even by Mikalov." Sirius nodded.

"This is all hypothetical of course." He added hurriedly.

"Its none of my business what you do." She shrugged. "As long as you're aware of the risks." She warned.

"As I said entirely hypothetical," Sirius smirked. "Besides the first chapter of that book pretty much destroyed my childhood ambition of joining the werewolf race." Sirius joked. Eilidh laughed genuinely and for the first time since her father died, it hurt her chest.

"Well, if you're done with your interrogation maybe we should join the others." She said just now realizing how close they were sitting to each other.

"I don't think I actually asked you anything." He stood making his way for the door.

"There was no need. I was so intimidated I started babbling." She joked following him.

"You were intimidated! Who's the one with the werewolf guards?" He laughed as they descended the stairs.

"You're the only one with a werewolf here, mate."

"Yes but I'm picturing an army at your end."

"We only have one currently and he's old so yours would beat mine in seconds." She smiled genuinely. "Speaking of yours. Please don't tell him I know."

"Why? I think it'd help him to know he's got another person on his side." Sirius argued.

"If he wanted me to know he would have said something. He's been a werewolf much too long to not know who I am." She explained. "Besides once they find out you know and you're okay with it, that's all they ever want to talk about." She joked.

"Remus isn't like that." Sirius defended.

"It was a joke. I really don't mind talking about it with them." Eilidh shrugged.

"Oh, right." He said.

"It's alright. You're protective. It's one of the things I always admired about you." She smiled.

"Well, look at you. You're willing to go to war for your father. If that's not protective then I don't know what is." Sirius returned. They stopped at the foot of the stairs watching the other three.

"What do you think James is fighting for. You fight for your friends. Remus and Peter, they're in whether they like it or not. But what about James?" She asked him.

"Because it's the right thing to do. That's just how he is. If he believes something is right, he'll fight to the death to prove it. Also for Remus and Peter and all the others, but I think that even if we didn't have them, he'd still fight." Sirius explained.

"So he's like you but more intense." She concluded.

"Yeah, I guess I am." Sirius grinned. "I mean we're like each other." He corrected.

"Oi, Nicnevin, Black! You gonna stand there making googly eyes at each other all day or are you gonna make yourselves useful?" James shouted.

"Shut it, Potter!" Sirius said rushing at his friend. They collided against each other crashing to the floor. Peter and Remus laughed before piling on top of them.

"Should I be intercepting this?" She shouted, not sure if this was an actual fight or not.

"We're fine!" The four of them shouted still tangled in each other.


	3. Who the Hell is Nick Graves

Lily scratched at her electric blue nail polish, it was already chipping anyway. She slouched in her seat, trying to listen to what Professor Vector was saying but found that his words floated in one ear and out the other. She glanced at Severus sitting beside her. He sat with his back straight, his quill hovering above the parchment. He was listening so attentively to the professor he forgot to take notes. She sighed and looked across the room to Josie. Josie sat with her head on her desk, her quill moving across the page. Lily hoped that she was taking notes and not writing to Mary. She looked behind her to see if Mary seemed to be waiting for anything. Mary had her legs up on the desk, chewing gum and twisting a strand of hair around her finger with a vacant expression. Josie was once again their only hope of passing Arithmancy.

Lily had promised herself that she would pay attention in this class this year, but she was too distracted- too irritated to focus. For one thing, James Potter kept flitting into her mind. She hated him. She hated everything about him. She hated the way he walked down the halls running his hands through his hair. She hated the way he chewed on his quills in class. She hated the way he ate his food. She hated that smirk that was always on his face. She hated the way his eyes would light up and he would get loud when he talked about Quidditch. She hated the way it seemed that every time they put their differences behind them and became friends, he would do something horrible again; like making leeks sprout out of Severus's ears.

And then he and his friends hadn't shown up at all today. Severus, of course, was the first to notice this in first period. "The stupid prats can't even turn up to class on the first day!" he had said. It was ridiculous, irresponsible, and disrespectful to the professors, not to show up to your first day of classes, but for some reason what Severus had said bothered her.

She was mostly irritated with herself, she supposed because she was still sore with Severus after the row they had over summer. Lily had gone to Ireland for a week because Eilidh's father died, she wanted to be there for her friend. Severus just didn't care. He didn't want Lily leaving because summer was the only time they could truly spend together. At school, there was always Potter, and classes, and other friends that got in the way, but during summer it was just them. Summer was always sacred to them, but another friend in need of support after a death of a close family member… that had to be an exception.

He had apologised and seemed sincere but then, when she told him that Eilidh's mother planned to keep Eilidh from returning to Hogwarts he seemed glad. Eilidh may not like Severus but she was always nice to him, so she didn't see why he would react that way. She didn't know how to confront him about it. For Severus it seemed like the issue was over and done with, he didn't even realise that she was irritated. Potter did and by God did that irritate her too. Why does Potter have to notice everything? she thought to herself, drawing flowers on her parchment so it looked like she was taking notes. She could hear Severus's voice in her head saying "because he's an idiot, why do you care anyway?" and she let out a quiet laugh. This Severus did notice. He gave her a questioning look which she responded to with a smile and a shrug then mirrored Josie's posture.

"Lily, we're supposed to be taking out our books," Severus whispered. Lily shot up and indeed everyone had their copy of "The Magic of Numbers" written by Pythagoras himself, out on their desk.

"Lily are you alright? You seemed distracted in class," Severus asked as they walked to the Great Hall for lunch.

"I was a bit distracted I suppose," Lily admitted. She smiled at him, seeing that he was really concerned. "It's nothing to worry about. It's just Eilidh and…."  
"And?" Severus pressed. Lily shook her head.

"Just Eilidh. I'm a bit worried, I haven't heard from her since I got back. I'll just write to her after classes," Lily said. She smiled and waved goodbye to him before skipping off to the Gryffindor table to join her other friends. Mary and Josie had already found Marlene.

"Please tell me you were taking notes," Lily begged Josie, throwing her books down on the table and her rucksack into an empty seat.

"Mind you I was half asleep when I did." Josie yawn and reached into her bag to take out her notes. Mary looked over Lily's shoulder as she read through Josie's scribbles. "Magic in numbers. Numbers are the least magical thing on this planet! I can't believe I let you talk me into taking this ruddy class again."

"Thank you, Josie, you're the best," Lily smiled brightly and put the notes into her Arithmancy book.

"Mary, love, I hate my dress robes!" Persephone Machault announced as she took a seat next to her. "My mum made me go shopping with my grandmother and she kept me locked in the changing room the entire time! I've got old lady robes."

"Alice said Hogsmeade weekend isn't until the end of the month, but I'm sure we can help you find something for a decent price," Marlene said. Lily nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, guys!" Persephone said.

"No problem. I need to find proper shoes to go with mine anyway. The ones I got are not going to be kind to my feet and I actually want to dance that night," Lily said. Lily, was thoroughly looking forward to this Alum Ball.

"Reckon Sirius got taller over the summer?" Josie asked, twirling her hair.

"Who cares?" Lily said much too quickly and as a result, nearly choked on her potatoes.

"Oi, he just came in with Eilidh!" Mary said, pushing Lily's shoulder so she would turn around though she didn't need to. The moment Mary said Eilidh's name Lily's head whipped around and sure enough there she was striding into the Great Hall smiling along with James Potter and his Merlin cursed friends.

Lily jumped to her feet and called Eilidh's name. She came running and as she got closer Lily noticed her eyes were red from crying.

"I thought you weren't coming!" Lily said, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Dumbledore came and changed her mind at the last moment," Eilidh answered.

"Good, I'm so happy you're here! Are you alright? You look like you've been crying," Lily asked, pulling on Eilidh's hand so she'd sit down.

"Oh, I'm fine. I was just telling them about my dad," Eilidh answered, nodding her head toward Potter and his friends. They were making quite a lot of noise with a group of sixth and seventh years. Lily wanted to ask why she had told them anything but didn't want to pry.

"We're sorry about that Eilidh," Mary smiled kindly and reached over Lily to touch Eilidh hand. Josie, Marlene, and Persephone nodded in agreement.

"Thank you and I'm fine. I just want this year to be a happy, exciting one," Eilidh said and smiled to reassure them.

"Well, you'll be happy to hear this then!" Josie grinned.

"Hogwarts is hosting a ball," Marlene said, sounding very much like McGonagall.

"The Alum Ball," Lily said.

"Slughorn's putting the whole thing together," Mary said.

"We were going to volunteer to help when we go to Potions if you want to join us," Persephone said. Eilidh looked hesitant.

"It might help keep your mind off things," Lily whispered and Eilidh smiled.

"You're right, it sounds fun," Eilidh said. Lily felt much better having Eilidh here with her and that she seemed determined to have fun. She was afraid that she would become distant after her father died but it seemed to be the opposite. "Right, so who are you all going with?"

"None of us has dates yet, except for Marley of course," Josie answered.

"Actually, I don't either. I broke up with Adam," Marlene said like she was telling them that it was rather sunny outside.

"When? You didn't tell us," Mary asked.

"Oh, this summer. I just realised that he wasn't right for me," Marlene said like adding that there was also a brisk wind.

"Did he do something?" Persephone asked.

"No, I kissed someone else," Marlene sighed. "A girl actually, so you see why he wasn't right for me?"

"Aren't you going to the dance with her?" Josie asked.

"No that was just a summer thing. I was kinda hoping to go with Annie, " Marlene answered. The girls thought a moment, trying to remember who Annie was. "From Hufflepuff. We had Astronomy with her."

"Oh right! She's cute," Mary said.

"I think she's going out with Jacob Wright, Marls," Lily said slowly.

"Is she! Damn, I'll have to find someone else," Marlene said, looking only a little upset.

"Why don't we just go together, make it a girls night?" Josie asked.

"Because I'd rather not end the night snogging you!" Mary laughed.

"It'd be the best snog of your life," Josie returned laughing along with them. There was a loud bustle of laughter coming from where James sat with his friends that caught their attention. To Lily's horror, James stood, looking very much like she was his intended destination. James smirked at her and ruffled his hair. Lily felt a familiar sickening somersault in her stomach she felt whenever James directed his attention to her.

"All right, Evans?" James grinned, extending an arm to balance himself on the table separating Lily from Mary. His voice was deep and mature and there was a glint in his eye as usual. She forgot to add this to the list of things she hated about him.

"We're eating, Potter," Lily answered.

"Yes, and it looks like your vegetarian diet is going well," James said. His hand shot to his hair again.

"Thanks," Lily said shortly.

"Could I have a word?" James asked, nodding away from the table. Lily hadn't the slightest idea what James had to say to her, but remembering that Eilidh had come in with him and that she said she had talked to him, Lily thought he might have concerns so she agreed. She smiled at her friends, signalling that she was fine and followed him.

He led her to the corner of the room and she was grateful for it. They were far enough away so no one could overhear their conversation but they still weren't alone.

"So, are you excited about this ball thing?" James asked succeeding in shocking Lily.

"Really, Potter?" she said, letting her irritations seep into her voice.

"What? Hey, if you think it's stupid-"

"It's just not what I was expecting you to talk about." She forced herself to remember that her fight with Severus was not his fault and never mind the trouble he had actually caused.

"What were you expecting?" James half laughed half looked concerned. She hated how confusing he was. She contemplated asking him exactly what he had talked about with her friend but thought that Eilidh would eventually tell her if it was anything important.

"I am looking forward to the ball, why do you ask?" Lily said. James, thankfully, didn't press into what her expectations were. Instead, he ruffled his hair again and said with a smirk;

"I just thought that you and I should go together,"

Lily suppressed a groan. She had hoped that he would drop this little "joke" he insisted on having with her. He was always flirting with her while his friends sniggered and he'd smirk like he was telling a first year that Dumbledore kept a flock of Strix (a flesh-eating bird) in the dungeons. (He had actually done this last year. Lily had stayed up helping the prefects sooth their nightmares for an entire week.)

"I'd rather watch paint dry with Professor Binns commentating," Lily said, smiling sweetly.

"Wait!" James reached out an arm to stop her from turning back. "Does that mean you're actually going with that Graves bloke from Ravenclaw?"

"Who?" Lily asked. She knew no one by the name of Graves and she certainly didn't have a date to the ball yet.

"Nick Graves from Ravenclaw said he was going to ask you. Did you say yes?" James asked.

"If I did it wouldn't be any of your business," Lily huffed and stormed off going over her list again. She hated how James Potter always seemed to know things before she did. She hated how James Potter acted like a complete idiot. She hated how he always took his jokes too far. She hated how he brought the worst out of her. And above all, she absolutely hated his stupid, stupid hair!


	4. Confessions of a Teenage Werewolf

From where he sat, Remus could see both Lily's and James's facial expressions. While he had no idea what they were saying because he had never mastered the art of lip reading, Remus could tell that it wasn't going well.

It started with James, nervously gnawing on his lip and almost obsessively "fixing" his hair, leading Lily, looking confused, concerned, then determined, across the Great Hall and into a private corner. (Why James didn't take her out of the Hall completely, Remus didn't understand.) It ended with Lily stomping off, back to her friends, leaving James watching her leave, looking completely gutted.

James continued to watch her as she, Remus assumed, explained what had happened to her friends. James shook his head, looking like he was trying to get water out of his ears, and returned to their table; his face expressionless.

"How'd it go, mate?" Sirius asked, as soon as James sat down. Sirius had sat with his back to the scene so he didn't see James's expression when Lily walked away. If he had Remus felt sure that Sirius wouldn't be asking this question. Instead, Sirius would have found some artful way of getting James out of the crowded Great Hall so could do whatever he needed to do to get over this. Unfortunately for James, he was not Sirius.

"I think she's going with that Ravenclaw bloke," James said, simply and monotonously. He blinked wildly and then his smirk returned to his face. Remus tried to remember if he had seen Lily Evans with and Ravenclaws recently. The only one Remus could think of was one he had made up the night before.

"Chill Potter, there are other girls," Gabe Pevensie said. Remus wondered if he too had seen James's face when Lily walked away. Had Lily told James that she was going with Nick Graves?

"Of course there are," James grinned though it didn't reach his eyes. He wondered if Sirius noticed it by now or if he was putting on a show for their present company.

"Nick Graves?" Remus asked, for clarification. Lily could have been referring to a different Ravenclaw.

"Yes, Lupin. Pass the butter will you?" James said, clearly wanting the conversation to end. As previously stated, Remus was not Sirius; he was not raised to be tactful.

"Did she say that?" Remus continued, ignoring the butter.

"Moonchild, I swear if you don't pass the butter I'll put your face in it," James threatened so Remus passed the butter. He tried to convince himself that Nick Graves actually existed. In a world of wizards and werewolves, such a strong coincidence had to be possible. Right?

"There's always Sally-Anne Perks," Peter laughed and Remus's throat tightened. Sally-Anne Perks was a Hufflepuff in their year who had a bit of a crush on James. She was nice enough but James didn't like Sally-Anne Perks, he liked Lily Evans but because of him, James would probably end up going with Sally-Anne Perks.

"James, I have to tell you something," Remus said, cutting off his reply. He made no apologies as he probably should have done. Instead, he got up and left the Great Hall, leaving his friends looking confused and concerned probably assuming it had something to do with the upcoming full moon.

Remus leant against the wall across the Great Hall feeling nervous and guilty. James showed up a minute later.

"What is it, Remus?" James asked, studying his expression. Remus took a deep breath trying to summon the courage to confess. When he couldn't he started to pace.

"Lily said she was going with Nick Graves?" Remus asked, putting emphasis on the name so it would not be misheard.

"That's what she said," James said, heavily. He shoved his hands in his pockets and aggressively kicked the wall, probably imagining it to be Nick Graves.

Another wave of guilt hit Remus. He prevented James from going to this ball with Lily. And Lily was going to the ball with an imaginary Ravenclaw named Nick Graves. Nick Graves was a truly awful name - he could have done better.

"I'm sorry James," he said softly. James's head shot up. He looked surprised but as the wheels turned anger washed over his face. Remus stood determinedly rooted to the spot, convinced he deserved James's anger. He wondered what James was thinking if he could see the guilt written on his face, if he could hear the sincerity in his apology.

"What happened Remus?" James asked, his expression and voice controlled.

"I made him up," Remus felt himself grimace when meant to give an apologetic smile. "Nick Graves doesn't exist. I made him up just to mess with you. Guess it worked." He chuckled weakly. He glanced at his shoes then at James anticipating his reaction. James looked like he wanted to laugh but also like he'd very much like to hit him.

"You thick git!" James yelled. His voice sounded odd like he was fighting a laugh.

"I know! I didn't think you'd ask her about it or that she'd say she was going with him. It was just supposed to - I don't know what it was supposed to be, but I'm sorry. I should have told you before you asked her," Remus said. James clenched his jaw. His lips twitched into a hint of a smile.

"She probably thinks I'm an idiot," James said.

"I'll explain it to her. Maybe she'll go with you then," Remus said, smiling weakly.

"Nah, don't worry about it. She always thinks I'm an idiot," James said and hung his head growing suddenly sombre. He was no longer a storm of amusement and rage. There was no hidden smirk written on his face. He was just sad. Somehow this was worse "Thanks for telling me mate." James started to walk away, not back to the Great Hall but to the marble staircase.

"Where are you going?" Remus called.

"Just feel like a walk," James shrugged and gave a half smile before turning around again. Remus felt like he should do something or say something to stop him but he didn't know what. He stood immobilized and mouth glued shut watching James disappear around a corner. He heard the heavy oak doors shut and finally felt like he could move.

"Remus," Sirius said, coming out of the Great Hall with Peter. "Where's James?"

"I don't know, he just went for a walk," Remus said.

"Well, what happened? Is everything okay?" Sirius asked.

Remus thought for a moment. He could easily say that everything was fine. However, Sirius could probably fix the situation with a simple joke. It didn't matter if he didn't want to admit it again or that he didn't want anyone else to know. More than anything he wanted everything between James and him to be right again.

"Actually… I told him I made Nick Graves up," Remus said with great reluctance. He found it difficult to look either of them in the eye.

"Oh," Peter said. Sirius laughed, clutching his stomach. "Is it true?"

"Like, you actually made up some bloke just to get him jealous?" Sirius asked, laughing still.

"Your sympathy is really touching, Sirius," Remus said.

"Remus, come now, you have to admit it is a little funny," Sirius said, trying to cheer Remus up.

"James was really hurt," Remus said. "It only made it worse when I told the truth."

"Mate, it's James. He'll come 'round. Now, we've got to get to Maggies to get our new schedules," Sirius said, leading the way to Professor McGonagall's office.

"Maybe we should find him," Remus suggested.

"You just said he wants to be alone," Peter said.

"When does James ever want to be alone?" Remus challenged.

"When he's thinking," said Sirius. "It's not like he's never coming back. He's probably just working out a plan to get Lily to the ball." Remus heaved a sigh, hoping that James wasn't wandering around the Forbidden Forest. "I wonder how many detentions Maggie's gonna give us for skipping most of the day!" Sirius said brightly.

"Probably another week's worth," Remus said, smiling, buying into Sirius's distraction.

Professor McGonagall only gave them one more detention for missing the day and said she wanted to see James the minute he returned. James didn't show up to fourth-period Herbology or Ancient Runes and barely made it in time for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

He skidded in, just before Professor Haas shut the door, winded and cherry nosed with the smell of leaves on him. Thankfully there was a huge grin on his face. Professor Haas was nice, but his lessons weren't very informative nor entertaining. Obviously, this led to some mischief.

James mocked the way Evan Rosier slept on his arm with drool pooling out of his mouth and how Severus Snape seemed to write every word the professor said. Sirius made very loud comments about how "interesting" Professor Haas was. What made it even funnier was that Haas seemed to believe him. Peter drew a very artistic picture of Snape that dramatised his worst features. (Yes it did mysteriously end up in Snape's possession by the end of class.)

They had gone back up to their dorm room to drop off their books and head to dinner when Remus pulled him aside.

"Mate, are we cool?" Remus asked tentatively.

"Yeah, mate, we're cool." James chuckled and gripped his shoulder. Remus sighed in relief. "I reckon I owe you one. If it hadn't been for Nick Graves there would have been direct insults to my intelligence."

"Oy, Potter! Tryouts on the 10th right after breakfast," Cresswell said, coming out of nowhere.

"Aces," James grinned and skipped down the steps to tell Sirius.


	5. Try Outs

The sun shone brightly adding some warmth to the brisk autumn air but the wind whipped sharply around them making it difficult to fly. Cresswell insisted on making them fly laps around the stadium so he could see who the best flyers were. James left them all in the dust as he weaved around them, cutting his way to the front again and again. He seemed to like goading Sirius especially. He'd suddenly dive out in front of him making him have to stop suddenly to avoid a collision. Then he'd let Sirius catch up so they'd fly alongside each other, Sirius trying to get ahead. James would inch his way in front grinning mischievously as he did. Sirius would lean forward and plead with his broom to move faster, then James would shoot off laughing and weaving his way around the other flyers while Sirius yelled insults at him, still trying to catch up.

After what seemed like the hundredth lap, Cresswell blew his whistle calling them to the ground.

"Excellent! Really great, everyone," Cresswell grinned after the crowd had settled. "We'll take a quick water break then head back to the sky so I can see how you work with the quaffle."

James beamed at this. He was honestly good at every position available on the quidditch team but chaser was where he really excelled. More than anything it felt good to be back on his broom again, running drills while Cresswell pushed him to go harder, faster, nevermind the wind and the cold. If your good wasn't best then it wasn't good enough. That drive is what always gave him a rush.

Sirius hated it. He hated Cresswell breathing down his neck. With every "faster, Black, faster!" he would give a burst of speed then go slightly slower than he was before; his own subtle rebellion. It wasn't until James started toying with him that he actually put any effort into it.

Cresswell had them line up in pairs to toss the quaffle back and forth. James didn't toss the quaffle to Sirius - he chucked it, almost knocking Sirius off his broom or he'd throw it a little too far to the left sending Sirius spiralling after it. Sirius gave as good as he got, forcing James into dives so close to the ground that it set those watching in the stands (Sally-Anne Perks, Cassie Rosier, Peter, and Remus) on the edge of their seats.

Cresswell used his own position as Beater to add bludgers to the challenge. For older students, this was no problem, having already dealt with bludgers in previous games. The first and second years trying out were terrified. Sirius - he merely hit the ball back to Cresswell. Not having a beater's bat of his own, he broke his hand in the process and was sent to the hospital wing.

Sirius felt sure that because he had to leave tryouts early he would not make the team. James thought that because of Sirius's aggression on the field he was bound to make beater. Remus and Peter agreed with him, saying that from where they sat whatever he had done seemed to please Cresswell.

James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus (the first three getting up early to perform their animagus incantation) spotted the new team listed on the bulletin board the next morning.

Captain:

Dirk Cresswell

Co- Captain:

Frank Longbottom ("Probably to get him ready to be Captain next year," James guessed.)

Seeker:

Gabe Pevensie

Chasers:

Frank Longbottom

James Potter

Marlene McKinnon

Beaters:

Dirk Cresswell

Kingsly Skackelbolt

Keeper:

Sirius Black

"Keeper? I didn't even try out for Keeper," Sirius said, feeling gypped.

"You did keep all those quaffles off the ground," James shrugged.

"So he puts me on the most useless spot on the team!" Sirius exclaimed.

"It's not useless," Remus said.

"Isn't it kinda the most important? I mean they stop the other team from scoring," Peter added.

"Cottontail, I'm a chaser. Pickles isn't even going to see the quaffle," James smirked.

"Even against Slytherin?" Remus challenged.

"Those snakes are nothing without Malfoy," James scoffed. Unbeknownst to him, Sirius began marching up the stairs.

"Hey, Pickles, where ya going?" Peter shouted after him.

"Going to talk to Captain Cresswell about the Keeper thing. Who is this Kingsley Shacklebolt anyway?" Sirius ranted, leading the way up the stairs and to the seventh year dormitories.

"You know Cresswell is captain for a reason," James whispered, not wanting to wake anyone. "He knows what he's doing, you'll make a great keeper."

Sirius didn't respond to this. He knocked on the door three times before entering, not bothering to wait for a response.

Dirk Cresswell's dormitory looked very much like it did in the previous year. The sun was blocked out by pieces of parchment spello-taped to the windows. Lava lamps lit the room, though they didn't know how they got muggle technology to work at Hogwarts. The walls were covered, corner to corner, with pictures of both muggle girls and witches - half naked of course.

They could hear water rushing through the pipes in their bathroom. Someone had fallen asleep on the desk, he had ink stains on his hands and face. They could see Gabe Pevensie's painted fingernails hanging off the bed reaching below the bed curtains just above the floor. Someone else was snoring in the bed next to his though they couldn't tell if it was Cresswell or not.

They had only been in this dormitory once before with the Longbottom brothers. Adrian had graduated and Frank was off on prefect duty - their absence was surely felt.

Sirius suddenly had the horrible impression that he was not supposed to be there, in a seventh-year dormitory, just after the break of dawn, when he only knew two of the inhabitants- neither of which he knew well enough to call friend. He looked to James for support. James merely shrugged and crossed over to the snoring bed to see who its owner was. Unfortunately, James tripped over a large shoe and landed with a loud clatter and a stifled groan of pain. The boy at the desk stirred and mumbled something incoherent. Peter gave a frightened squeak and scurried out of the room, watching from the door frame. Sirius laughed in both humour at his friends' clumsiness and cowardice, and in alarm. He clamped a hand over his mouth to keep the sound from escaping. Remus was just about to suggest that they wait to talk to Cresswell at breakfast in the Great Hall when the sound of bed curtains being ripped open emitted from the other side of the room. James froze, Sirius stopped laughing, Remus's words were stuck in his throat, and Peter started doing an odd looking dance. James lost his balance and fell again.

"For God's sake stop doing that!" demanded a voice in a harsh whisper. It was Dirk Cresswell. He had come into the light of a purple and green lamp, hastily putting on his dressing gown. "What are you gits doing here?" He eyed the three of them and gave Peter a strange what-the-hell-are-you-doing sort of look. Much like Sirius had been afraid of, he looked angry.

"We wanted to talk to you about try-outs," James answered.

"It couldn't have waited until morning?" Cresswell demanded.

"It is morning," Remus said.

"It was sort of a whim of the moment type thing," James said. Cresswell eyed them again, seeming keen on telling them off.

"Meet me downstairs," he heaved a sigh and turned his back on the boys, who hastily scurried out of the room.

"I don't think I've ever seen him so mad," James reflected, having reached the common room.

"He doesn't have to share a room with you, he probably isn't used to such rude awakenings," Remus smirked. James scoffed in response but said nothing.

All of them were too tired to do much but stare into the freshly kindled fire. Waking up early every day to perform their incantation and staying up every night to study and keep up on their homework was already taking a toll on them, even though they weren't even a month into the school year. Their teachers kept their assignments piled high. Frank said it was because they were preparing them for their O.W.L's they'd take next year.

By the time Cresswell showed up, looking like he had just got out of the bath, Sirius and Peter had dozed off again and James was so far gone that he was startled when he took a seat beside him.

"So what is it? I'd thought you liked being a Chaser?" Cresswell said, almost immediately. James remembered from last year the number of complaints Cresswell got from the rest of the team about any decision he made and felt a little guilty for not making a bigger effort to talk Sirius down.

"It's just, we were a little surprised to see that you made Sirius our Keeper," James said, gently.

"And we don't know who Shackelbolt is," Remus added.

"He's our new Beater," Cresswell answered casually.

"We can read," Sirius yawned. "Who is he?"

"He's our new Beater. He's a Gryffindor. A good student, pretty quiet," Cresswell said. "He's the one who sent the bludger into the supply closet." Cresswell locked eyes with James.

"Oh," James said, his tone flat and unreadable. He turned to Sirius. "Mate, you'll make an excellent Keeper."

"Come off it! Who is he?" Sirius demanded, waking Peter in the process.

"I don't know, but he's got a good arm," James said.

"Good aim too," Cresswell smiled.

"Half the blokes in Gryffindor have that, it's not exactly alchemy," Sirius grumbled.

"Sirius, you didn't see him. Cresswell's right in making him Beater. And you will make a good Keeper, nothing ever gets passed you," Remus said, almost consolingly.

"What is it that you're not telling me?" Sirius asked, taking time to look directly in the eye of the three of them.

"He's a third year. Pretty small one too," Cresswell said.

"You're joking," Sirius said.

"No, I'm not. First practice is on the 26th at seven o'clock, be on time if you want to meet him," Cresswell said, leaving them in the common room.

"What the hell is he on? A third year's likely to get killed, especially against Slytherin. They never play fair," Sirius said after he left.

"I don't think that will be a problem for him honestly," James smirked. Sirius threw one of the couch's pillows at him, knocking his glasses askew.

"It's not funny. A third year's playing Beater while I do what? Sit there on my broom, practising meditation," Sirius said, bitterly, his pride obviously wounded.

"He's really, really good, mate," James said, still laughing.

"Oh, shut it Patches."

Sirius's bad mood continued throughout the day, even when they got new intel on the Slytherins.


	6. Trouble in Paradise

In late September of 1974, there was an important celestial event that was scheduled to take place just after sunset: "Venus will be passing through the Leo constellation; straight by Regulus." Professor Sinistra, the astronomy professor, decided to organise a picnic so they could eat their dinner as they watched the sunset and waited for the stars to appear.

The entire school was out there. Mr Filch (with Mrs Norris held tightly in his arms) tried to keep the first years out of the mud. Hagrid was kindling fires so they could stay warm in the brisk autumn air. Professor Sprout and Professor Sinistra followed him around, setting telescopes down next to the fires. Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Haas levitated a table and chairs so the professors wouldn't have to sit on the ground. The house elves were busy setting out blankets around the fires or putting the final touches on the food they had brought out. It was very rare for house elves to be seen and some of the younger students looked shocked by their existence. They passed a group of Slytherins chuckling about muggleborns with minimal damage, only one yelped in pain and surprise as they passed - Remus looked suspiciously at James but said nothing.

They settled themselves on a relatively dry patch of earth that was close enough to the fire that they didn't need to wrap themselves in their cloaks. Sirius immediately took out his Charms book, having already decided that tonight's events would be incredibly boring. Peter fiddled with his wand, looking for any cracks or dents (it was acting up in Transfigurations today.) Remus, still tired from the last full moon, stared at the passing students milling over the grass trying to find the perfect place to sit. James's eyes grazed over the scene in front of him trying to find someone that could liven things up a bit.

He noticed Dirk Cresswell in the middle of a group of giggly Hufflepuffs with Cassie Rosier on his arm. Given what he saw last year he decided it was best not to interrupt that. Frank Longbottom was trying to hide the fact that he was holding hands with Alice Fortescue. Gabe Pevensie was making doe eyes at someone in his group. James huffed. It was a rather romantic atmosphere with the firelight and the setting sun turning the sky a deep purple. Lily Evans had her head thrown back, her eyes crinkled, her nose scrunched up as she laughed sweet gales of laughter. A warm feeling erupted in James's stomach, a chill went through him, and he couldn't help but smile. Then old Snivel Snail reached out and touched her and the feeling evaporated. In its place was a sickening heartache and a burning desire to rip his ugly face off. They were sitting alone and rather close together (probably at Snape's request,) reading off of an evidently hilarious piece of parchment. They were surrounded by his Slytherin friends, her friends were scattered around miles apart from each other.

He found that he could not look away from them. Every muscle in his body seemed to have frozen and his brain gone haywire. Only when Sirius had announced that he - James - was wondering if his brother Regulus had stopped nursing (in a much more derogatory way. It was Sirius after all,) did he regain his motor skills. James's head whipped around to see Sirius sipping on his pumpkin juice, staring at him with a blank expression. Remus had his face in his hands, trying to hide his laughter. Peter had spit out his drink and was coughing violently.

"I'll just tell her you haven't yet," Regulus snarled, standing over Sirius with his fists clenched at his sides, glowering at him. Evidently, he didn't share his brother's sense of humour. He made to leave. Sirius turned around.

"You can tell her that if she wants to ask me something, she can ask me herself! AND YOU - you can keep your nose out of my business," Sirius said, furiously. Regulus spun around and gave his brother an extremely rude hand gesture. Sirius heaved a heavy sigh then threw his cup down. Grumbling, he stood and marched after his brother. For a moment James thought Sirius was going to hex him but then Regulus turned left and Sirius continued forward toward the staff table.

James turned back to Remus and Peter who, like him, were watching Sirius.

"What happened?" James demanded.

"How could you have missed that? You were sitting right there!" Peter exclaimed.

"Ah, but Pete, Lily was in his line of sight," Remus smirked, waving a hand showcasing where Lily and Severus sat.

"Oh, just shut up and tell me!" James demanded. Sirius had approached the staff table and was now talking with Professor McGonagall who had obviously stopped him from venturing any further.

"Regulus asked about the Slug Club," Peter answered. Remus opened his mouth to add something but James didn't stick around to hear it.

Professor McGonagall had stepped aside to let Sirius pass. He made his way toward Professor Slughorn, shook his hand, and was immediately immersed in a conversation. James leapt over a group of students and landed next to Sirius, nearly colliding with the table in the process.

"Me too!" he sputtered out, gasping for breath. Slughorn looked at him, confused and startled.

"Mate, I haven't gotten that far yet," Sirius said, irritably.

"Well, go on then," Slughorn said. He took his glass of wine and brought it to his lips, smiling over its rim. Sirius took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He looked at James for a moment before continuing.

"Er… James and I were wondering if…" Sirius took an audible gulp and added in a rush, "if we were still invited in the Slug Club…? Regulus said that there was a meeting last week, and we weren't invited to it."

"I know I'm a bit rubbish at Potions, Professor, but I'm fantastic on the Quidditch field, and Professor McGonagall did say I'm brilliant at Transfigurations," James said, sending a proud grin to Professor McGonagall. "And Sirius is actually quite good at Potions when we're not goof-"

"Slow down m'boy," Slughorn laughed, heartily. "The Slug Club isn't just about Potions and I'm fully aware of your talents. Believe me, we would be happy to have you. I was under the impression that you weren't interested. You've been turning me down for four years now."

James and Sirius shared an awkward glance.

"Er… well…."

"We thought it was only for potions," Sirius lied quickly.

"Right! But then we talked to a few members," James said, backing him up.

"Like Evans and Regulus."

"Yeah, and they told us all about the fun… er-"

"Dinner parties."

"Dinner parties… right!" James said, cringing inwardly at the thought of dinner parties.

"And all the cool people they got to meet. And we just thought," Sirius snapped his fingers and gave a very fake toothy grin. "Merlin, we've gotta join the Slug Club!"

James crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping that Professor Slughorn couldn't read Sirius's snide expression like he could. To his relief, Slughorn chuckled jovially.

"An easy mistake to make," Slughorn smiled brightly, almost smugly. "Now that I know you're interested, you can expect an invitation soon. I'm expecting a special guest and I wanted to throw a party for her." Slughorn grinned at them as if he had just given them exemptions from the end of the year exams.

"Oh, joy! Lucky we're not going to miss that, eh James." Sirius stretched his grin so wide James was afraid he'd split his face in two. "Have a splendid evening, Professor."

Sirius turned to leave, his grin quickly fading into a scowl. Thankfully, none of the professors noticed this. James rushed to keep up with him. Sirius kept his jaw tightly clenched. Only when he matched his strides did he erupt into conversation.

"That stupid git! Probably did it on purpose. 'Oh, I'll just back off a bit, then they'll come begging on their knees.' Probably got my mother to press it. When did she ever care about the stupid Slug Club!" he ranted, throwing his arms about.

"If it gets your mum off your back -"

Sirius barked out an odd sounding laugh. "Yeah, right! This doesn't change the fact that I'm a Gryffindor or that I associate myself with such filth as blood traitors and half-breeds and mu- muggleborns. Oh, if she only knew about Remus," Sirius growled with an odd glint in his eye.

"Hey, what did Regulus say when he came over? Nice to see you two talking to each other," James said, dismally hoping that this would take his mind off his mother.

"Who cares what that prat said…! You know you're absolutely pathetic whenever you see Evans," Sirius smirked, obviously intending on this being a joke. James didn't find it funny.

"OUT OF THE WAY, SNIVELLUS!" Sirius shouted. James started. He had been so focused on Sirius that he hadn't seen what was right in front of him.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. Severus had, at the sound of Sirius's voice, pulled quickly away from Lily though his hands still rested on her waist. Her arms were draped around his shoulders. James thought he was going to be sick. He didn't know what the embrace had been but it was like he was living one of his nightmares. Sirius pushed Severus ruffly out of his way and Lily shouted at him.

The sickening feeling was quickly subsided by anger. His hands trembled at his sides and he felt a pulse on the side of his head that seemed to goad him on. Do it! Just do it! Severus got to his feet, glaring at James as he did.

"Potter!" Lily said sternly. James broke the eye contact he held with Severus to look at her. He, for once, had her full attention. She had stepped in front of Severus, taking a protective stance. Her eyes, full of determination, never left his.

"Relax Lily, he's too much of a coward to do anything in front of the professors," Severus snarled. This awakened something in James he had never felt before. It was like a monster was trying to rip his way out of his chest while his fingers itched for his wand. He really did hate this greasy, big nosed git. But he was right. The professors were there. Lily was there.

"Oh, shove it Snivellus," James said, with just as much ferocity as he could muster. "Later, Evans," he said softly and stepped around the pair. Sirius was waiting for him with his wand ready.

"He's so dim he puts trolls to shame," Sirius said, sending one last scowl to Severus.

"I'm not pathetic," James muttered icily. He stomped off, making sure the Sirius stayed behind him. His anger had not yet subsided and Sirius's little joke made it very appealing to take it out on him.

"I - oh hold on!" Sirius groaned. He turned, walked up behind his brother, jumped into a sitting position at his side, making the surrounding second years cry out in fright. Regulus, on the other hand, barely moved. "I've just been invited to the next meeting, so you can tell her that I'm in the stupid club."

"Yeah, I can't do that in good conscious," Regulus said.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked through gritted teeth.

"It would be lying. You're not actually in the club, you've been invited. It's not the same," Regulus smirked. James thought it would be very nice to take some of his aggression out on the little prat in front of him but remembered a promise he made to Sirius. Besides, it was just bad karma to hex your mate's brother.

"Reg, just tell her I'm in it. I'll be at the meeting I swear," Sirius said, looking like he couldn't actually believe what he was hearing.

"I'm not lying to mum," Regulus said.

James wasn't quite sure how it happened, but the next thing he knew he was holding Regulus against a tree by the collar of his robes, his face mere inches from his. He was very much aware of how much bigger he was than him.

"Look it you little prat. The only reason I haven't hexed you into oblivion is because of Sirius so you can write your mother and tell her that your brother is an honorary member of the Slug Club. Then you can thank him for constantly saving your ass," James growled. Sirius, after some struggle, pushed him away.

"Is there a problem here?" an older Slytherin wearing a prefect badge had approached them. The surrounding students were either staring at them or watching the staff table to see if the professors had noticed.

"No. We were just talking, right Reg?" Sirius said, pulling James by his arm further away from the scene. "And we'll talk more later, at breakfast maybe… before anything else."  
Regulus straightened his robes, his eyes flickering between Sirius, James, and the prefect.

"Black?" the prefect pressed.

"Yeah, we're fine. We were just talking. Everything's fine. I'll see you at breakfast," he muttered, returning to his meal.

Sirius nodded and turned away. This time James was the one forced to fall behind. Neither of them spoke until they returned to their spot on the field. Remus and Peter were no longer there, nor were they anywhere in sight.

"What the hell is your problem?" Sirius hissed. "Regulus was off limits for a reason, you idiot."

"Oh, so I'm an idiot and I'm pathetic-"

"That was a joke!"

"Yeah, well just because you're mad about the Slug Club, doesn't mean you can take it out on me!"

"I am mad at you!" Sirius growled. James didn't know what to say, Sirius had never been angry at him before, but he did find he wasn't particularly worried about it, his anger never really lasted long. Sirius didn't seem to be expecting a reply anyway because he grabbed his cloak and stormed away. James followed though he wasn't sure why. He wasn't able to catch up with him until they got into the entrance hall. They continued up the stone steps, back toward Gryffindor tower.

"Regulus is a prat, and he's not going to stop being a prat until someone puts him in his place," James told him. Sirius spun around and stopped in front of him.

"If anyone's going to put him in his place it's going to be me," Sirius said firmly.

"Right, but you're not. You won't even talk about anything that's happened let alone do anything about it," James said.

"What's it to you anyway?" He yelled.

"You're still my mate, no matter how much of an idiot you are!" James yelled back. Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but something had caught his eye behind James. James spun around to see what he was looking at. There was a shadow coming quickly down the corridor. It was impossible to see who or what it was because only a few lights were left on in the castle but it could very possibly have been Filch. James took out his wand and muttered "Lumos" causing a light to emit from its tip.

"James is that you?!" the friendly voice of Remus Lupin echoed down the corridor.

"REMUS MOONCHILD LUPIN, YOU SCARED US HALF TO DEATH," James responded.

"Sorry, not sorry! Come down here, you need to hear something," Remus said. Sirius strode past without a glance or a word.  
"What happened?" he asked Remus.

"Just come on," Remus answered. He led the way down the corridor at a light jog and slid to a halt outside of a door to a classroom that was no longer in use. They usually used it to hide from Filch when the need arose.

He opened the door, revealing the familiar dusty interior. The room was softly lit by balls of fire contained in floating glass jars. The walls were lined with stacks of desks and chairs. Broken baskets, old Quidditch supplies, and oddly a pair of shoes had been thrown in here. Peter sat cross-legged on the floor, sitting very close to Mary Macdonald. Eilidh was pillaging through the cabinets. There was a blonde in Slytherin robes, staring at the wall in front of her, twiddling her thumbs.

"James, you remember Persephone from Ancient Runes?" Remus said, closing the door behind him. Eilidh jumped down from the cabinets. Peter stood. Mary cast a silencing charm on the door.

"Yeah, sure how's it hangin'?" James smiled. Persephone smiled back and gave a small wave. "Persephone, this is Sirius Black, Sirius this is Persephone Machault."

"Nice to meet you," Persephone smiled.

"Pleasure," Sirius said, stiffly. "Remus, what is going on?"

"Ask them, mate," Remus said.

"Eilidh, we told you we don't trust Slytherins," Sirius said.

"Right, but she's friends with Mary and we trust Mary," she responded.

"I should probably just tell Professor Slughorn anyway," Persephone mumbled, taking a step toward the door.

"No," Mary said, placing a hand on her arm to stop her. "Guys, Steph's cool. She's just trying to help."

"This is really something the professors should take care of," Persephone argued.

"All they'll do is 'look into it,'" Eilidh rolled her eyes.

"Then I'll go to Dumbledore," Persephone argued further.

"He'll take away Hogsmeade from all of us," Mary protested.

"Would someone just tell us what's going on!" James demanded.

"Machault overheard a conversation," Eilidh said, staring pointedly at Persephone.

"So!" Sirius said, irritably after a moment's pause. Persephone groaned.

"I was in my common room, on my way outside when I heard someone talking on the stairs up to the boy's dormitory," Persephone said, sending one last venomous look to Eilidh. "They were talking about smuggling something in from Hogsmeade. I'm not sure what but it sounded dangerous, like a dark object or something."

"Did you see who it was?" James questioned.

"No, I kinda got out of there as soon as possible. It's not really safe for the Slytherins either," Persephone said.

"Could you recognise any of their voices?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not sure, but I thought one of them might have been this guy, Abbot. But he's Head Boy, he wouldn't -"

"Yeah, I'm sure Malfoy wouldn't either," Sirius said, bitterly.

"Did you hear anything else from their conversation?" Remus said.

"Er, yeah. They kept talking about this other guy. They never said his name though, just said 'him' and 'he.' It was actually kinda creepy," Persephone said.

"It sounds like…" Eilidh started.

"You-know-who," Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Oh, you don't think…. At Hogwarts! That's ridiculous! I … I mean it's Hogwarts," Mary said with fear etched into her face. "Eilidh, what is this?"

"It's true Mary, they're here. I think it started with Malfoy last year. He was just recruiting but now it seems like they're actually making a move," Eilidh said.

"Listen Machault, you can't tell anyone else about this," James said.

"Maybe she should though," Mary said.

"Mary, you were just telling her not to," Eilidh said.

"Yeah, but if they are Death Eaters… Eilidh look what they did to your dad and God knows how many others!" Mary argued.

"I know what they've done, Mary!" Eilidh yelled.

"I am going to go to Professor Slughorn and tell him what-" Persephone interrupted, seeming to want their argument to end.

"I've been to the professors before, they won't do anything. They'll look into it, that's all. We don't have enough evidence for them to do anything," Eilidh told her.

"We can stop them from smuggling anything in," James said with sincerity.

"This is ridiculous! Peter tell them they're being stupid," Mary demanded, turning to where Peter stood against the wall, watching the ordeal.

"I-I er…," Peter stuttered.

"The professors will not be able to do anything about this," Sirius said sternly.

"He's right, you didn't see anyone," Remus said. "They might question Abbot but there's really not much they can do."

Everyone feel silent while they waited to see what Mary and Persephone would say next. Persephone looked at Mary. Mary shrugged and quickly looked away.

"Fine," Persephone breathed. "But that's it, we're not participating in your… whatever you wanna call it."

"We wouldn't ask you to, it'd be too dangerous for you," Remus said.

"Right, now that, that's sorted, Mary would you like to see if we can make it in time for dessert?" Peter said.

"Yeah," Mary said quietly. "Come on Seph."

"We'll make a plan for Hogsmeade, tomorrow morning before breakfast. Meet us in our dormitory, yeah?" James asked Eilidh as he and Remus followed them out.

"I'll be there," Eilidh promised.

Sirius stayed behind because he didn't feel like continuing his argument with James. He didn't know why Eilidh stayed. That was until the door shut behind Remus, leaving them completely alone.

"So what's with you?" she asked, jumping up onto one of the countertops again. "You seem upset."

"Do I? I thought I was downright cheerful," Sirius said. Eilidh simply smiled and waited for him to continue. He sighed and jumped up next to her. "I joined the Slug Club."

"Why?" Eilidh said, looking completely baffled.

"I promised I would," Sirius shrugged. "It's not the worst thing, I just didn't want to do it. Maybe it won't be so bad."

"Yeah, maybe," Eilidh said, weakly. She stared across the classroom looking deep in thought. "You only promised that you'd join the Slug Club, right?"

"Yeah, but I can't quit. That'll be worse than if I didn't join," Sirius answered.

"So get kicked out," Eilidh said.

"Something tells me that that's not gonna be easy," Sirius chuckled.

"Maybe it will be," Eilidh said. "You've been invited to his next party right?" Sirius nodded in response. Eilidh's eyes were alight with excitement, a grin stretched across her face. "Okay, Lily said that someone important's coming to that one, someone he's keen on making a good impression on. You just have to sabotage it and he'll never invite you to one again."

"It's gotta be something good, though," Sirius said, his foul mood finally seemed to be dissipating.

"We'll think of something. And I'm sure James can help," Eilidh said.

"Oh, he's in it too, he'll help," Sirius said.

"Great," Eilidh grinned, jumping down from the countertop again. "There was a rumour of treacle fudge out there. Let's see if it's true."

Sirius grinned and stumbled after her.


	7. Machinating

"Stop grumbling, Sirius, and enjoy the sunrise!"

"Enjoy the sunrise! That is the most bullshit line you've ever said."

Conversations like these often slipped through the cracks of Remus's unconsciousness. He was getting used to it; the three of them messing around at the crack of dawn. Now he was able to slip blissfully back to sleep without bother. This day of all days was not the day to fall back to sleep though. They had to plan, to scheme, to machinate if you will, to stop the Slytherins from bringing in some deadly, dark object.

He was back in the first stage of his REM sleep when he was reminded of this by someone knocking briskly on the door. He groaned, decided to get up, and ripped apart his bed curtains in time to see Peter scurrying to the bathroom, Sirius scrambling toward his bed yelling for James to wait, and James, completely ignoring his wishes, hurrying toward the door.

He opened it, revealing Eilidh, as bright eyed and bushy tailed as James, grinning her good morning.

"Morning," he smirked and stepped aside allowing her in. (Morning people are truly the worst.) James and she suddenly burst out laughing. He turned and laughed too. It was indeed a funny sight: Sirius Black, clad only in rainbow coloured pants, hopping around to keep his balance while trying to get a shirt, he had obviously thought were trousers, off of his foot.

"Mate I think shirts go on your upper half," James laughed.

"Thanks, Patches, I had no idea!" Sirius growled.

"Aw, don't worry. We still think you're cool," Eilidh teased.

"Oh shut it and turn around will you?" Sirius shouted, finally getting his sleeve off of his ankle.

"As you wish, Ace," Eilidh said, spinning on her heels. James laughed again.

"Lupin, get up, we've got work to do," Sirius ordered, spotting him grinning smugly behind his bed post.

Remus got up, though he knew most of the work was already done for them. Sirius and James had pushed their beds together and spent most of the night whispering by the light of their wands. He was only able to fall asleep when they stopped to sneak down to the kitchens.

With Peter out of the bathroom, Sirius with his shirt and trousers on correctly, Eilidh allowed to face them again, they sat in a circle in the middle of their dormitory. James and Sirius had roughly mapped out Hogsmeade.

"See this is where we come in," James said pointing, unnecessarily, with his wand to the beginning of Hogsmeade.

"And most of the seventh years spend the day in the three broomsticks, here," Sirius said, pointing to the pub.

"Right, but for their purposes, it'd probably be best if they did it somewhere less populated, like Hog's Head," Eilidh said, matter of fact

"We're getting there, Nicnevin, wait your turn," James scolded. Eilidh gave a very sarcastic apologetic look.

"Like Eilidh said," Sirius said, powering through, "Hog's Head is most likely where they are going to be. But also, we need to watch the post office and… James thinks Hogsmeade station is a good idea too."

"No one pays it any attention, it's a perfect spot for them," James argued, seemingly for the millionth time.

"You can be the one to cover it then," Sirius said.

"I wanted Hog's Head," James protested.

"No one wants the station," Sirius hissed.

"I'll take the station," Peter groaned.

"Good lookin' out, Pete," James grinned.

"He only took it because he doesn't want to hear you whining," Sirius told him.

"I'm not whin-!"

"OKAY!" Remus bellowed, silencing James and Sirius. "We have a guest, who probably thinks you two are completely barbaric without the squabbling. We're sorry, Eilidh."

"It's fine," she smiled. "So, Peter's at the station. What're the rest of us doing? I don't think it's a good idea for me to be in the Three Broomsticks. If any of my friends see me, they'll want to talk then I'll get distracted."

"Kay, Remus you wanna take the Three Broomsticks?" Sirius asked. Remus nodded his agreement. "Alright, Eilidh you take the post office. James and I'll take Hog's Head."

"Er… maybe we should separate you two," Peter said, carefully. Remus felt his stomach drop. He knew what Peter meant, they hadn't stopped fighting since they came back to the picnic last night, even while they were making this map. He just didn't think pointing it out was going to do any good, especially in present company.

"What do ya mean, Pete?" Sirius asked, sounding oblivious but there was an obvious threat in his facial expression. Peter looked panicked as his eyes flashed between Eilidh, James, and Sirius.

"I'm gonna go use the lavatory," Eilidh said, quickly catching on. She jumped up and practically ran to the door.

"We need two people in Hog's Head, it's the most likely place," James said after she left.

"Peter's right, though. Unless you get over whatever this is, we should probably put you with someone else," Remus said, speaking to both of them. It was obvious that they were avoiding each other's eye.

"There's nothing to get over, Remus, Peter," Sirius said, eyeing them both.

"Right, it's just friendly banter," James smiled, weakly.

"So, what happened last night, after you talked to Professor Slughorn?" Remus said, sounding casual but the truth was, he was really worried.

"Nothing, Sirius just revealed what he truly thought of me," James said, airily.

"And James proved that he is incapable of keeping promises," Sirius said, voice full of venom. "AND that he's overly sensitive!"

"Right, being called a pathetic idiot by my best mate is something I should just brush off!" James yelled.

"THAT WAS A JOKE!" Sirius yelled back.

"AND I BARELY TOUCHED HIM!" James returned.

"This is obviously more than just friendly banter," Peter muttered while Remus pushed Sirius, who was muttering about showing him exactly how he 'barely touched him,' roughly away from James.

"Sirius, calm down," Remus ordered. Sirius stopped fighting him but he was still visibly furious. "James, who did you get into a fight with?" James clenched his jaw and rested his folded arms on his knees, looking like a pouting first year.

"I didn't fight anyone," he said, through clenched teeth. Sirius scoffed. "I should though!"

"You point your wand anywhere near him-!" Sirius yelled.

"NEAR WHO?" Remus yelled over him.

"REGULUS!" Sirius bellowed. "This… knob head thought it'd be a good idea to start a fight with my brother!"

"OY! Your brother's a prat and you know it, and watch who you're calling knob head, knob head!" James yelled, jumping to his feet.

"Ooooh! Great comeback, Potter," Sirius said, matching his pose.

"Oh, it's Potter now is it?" James said, looking more furious than ever. Sirius had called him Potter plenty of times, Remus didn't know why this meant something more.

"It is your name, isn't it?" Sirius returned, returning his glare with full force.

"I-I'm sure you and your brother can work things out," Peter said, quietly.

"S'not the point, Pete," Sirius said.

"So what? You're just not gonna be friends anymore?" Remus asked, truly fearing the answer.

"No," Sirius said, instantly but a split second later his confidence fell. He looked at James, desperately.

"Course not, don't be stupid," James said. An awkward silence fell. James scuffed his bare foot against the floor. Peter nudged Remus's arm and gestured for him to fall back. Sirius massaged the back of his neck.

"You're not pathetic, mate," Sirius mumbled, apologies were not his strong suit.

"Yeah, suppose I could have handled Regulus better," James shrugged.

"Just… leave him to me s'all," Sirius said. James nodded, his lips twitched into a nervous smile as he looked at him. Sirius returned it shortly, sighed and crossed over to the bathroom. He knocked lightly on the door and Eilidh peaked her head out.

"It's safe," Sirius said, waving her back into the room.

"Okay, so where are we with the plan," she grinned, skipping back into the room. (Fucking morning people!)

"Same, you're in the post office, Remus - the Three Broomsticks, Peter's at the station, and Pickles and I are in Hog's Head," James grinned.

"Pickles? Is that why you guys were fighting?" Eilidh smirked.

"Pickles is an awesome nickname," James said, folding his arms and feigning offence.

"All of our nicknames are terrible," Peter said, looking directly at James.

"Traitor," James mumbled.

"We should probably tell them about the signal, Patches," Sirius said.

"I actually kinda like Patches," Peter smirked.

"We'll talk about your treachery later! Pickles and I found a way to signal each other if any of us spot Abbot," James started.

"It's a charm that'll give a really high pitched whistle sound," Sirius said.

"It was warned that we shouldn't use it indoors 'cause it might melt your brains or something," James added.

"That sounds pleasant. Can't wait to use that," Remus said.

"It's pronounced Strideo," Sirius said.

"We should be able to be heard from the station to Hog's Head," James said.

"Won't everyone be able to hear it?" Eilidh asked.

"Yeah, but they won't know what's going on, and it might distract Abbot long enough for us to take whatever he's picking up," James answered. Eilidh nodded. As always the plan was a bit shoddy but given the information they had and the time they had to do it in, Remus supposed it was actually quite brilliant.

"Okay, okay. This might actually work," Eilidh said, looking excited.

"Of course it'll work!" Sirius smirked.

"It had better work. I'd rather not find out what Abbot's planning on doing with… whatever it is," Peter said.

"It will! Merlin's pants Pete, her I get, but you've known us for four years," James said.

"Not all of your plans have worked, mate," Peter said.

"Okay!" Eilidh said before James could return the insult. "Let me leave before you have another go."

"Wait, wait, wait!" James called, just barely catching her arm. "There's one more thing we need to ask you."

"Potter, I've got to finish my potions essay before second period and I haven't even started it yet. This better be quick," Eilidh warned.

"It will. We just need you to use your connections with Slytherin to find out who else is working with Abbott," James said.

"Why don't you just ask Regulus who he hangs out with?" Eilidh asked.

"He's only a second year," James said, barely scraping the surface of the problem.

"We'd do it ourselves but James and I start Quidditch practice tonight, Remus the slacker, is already behind on assignments, and Peter's doing research on Billywigs - possible prank for the Slug Club," Sirius winked, "so unless you want to be stuck in the library, neck deep in Newt Scamander's most famous works-"

"Spare me please," Eilidh said, rolling her eyes. "I'll see what I can find out, but I'm not promising anything. I had to fight Machault tooth and nail, just to get her to see you four."

"Don't tell 'em it's for us," James shrugged.

"By now they know I'm with you," Eilidh said. "I'll figure something out."

"We could probably do it around practice if you'd like us to?" James offered.

"She said she could do it, mate," Sirius laughed.

"Yeah, but-"

"I've got this. You just work on kicking ass in Quidditch this year. If we lose to Hufflepuff again, I'm holding you personally responsible," Eilidh threatened, poking his chest with her finger.

"Okay, they had plenty of time to find a replacement!" James argued, making them laugh.

"Alright, I'm off to do my essay. See you sods in class," Eilidh said and smiled and waved as she left the dormitory.


	8. The not so strong bond of blood

It had been a productive morning already. His fight with James was over and done with. Their Hogsmeade plans were set in stone. Eilidh had seen him in his underpants and he nearly died of embarrassment. Now Sirius stood not two feet from the Slytherin table, utterly alone, antsily tapping his fingers of his left hand on his thigh, his right he kept in his pocket clutched on his wand. His eyes scanned the faces of the sea of people moving into the Great Hall.

Sirius wasn't looking forward to talking to his brother. He felt a little guilty about it. He wasn't really involved in Regulus's life anymore, even at home. He didn't know what classes he took, or who his best friend was, or even if he was any good at magic. He had overheard a conversation between two Hufflepuffs that Regulus had tried out for his Quidditch team. Merlin knew if he made it or not.

He saw Regulus just as he was walking through the door. He was talking with a boy around his age that Sirius had never seen before. He was a Slytherin and Regulus was usually seen with Ravenclaws (at first he thought it was his form of rebellion but then he found out that they were the only purebloods in his age group.)

"Regulus!" he called, waving his arm to be sure he caught his attention. He lurched forward, not wanting to catch any more Slytherin vibes than was necessary. Regulus's face had fallen when he realised who had called his name. "Who's this?" he asked, smiling brightly at the pair of them.

"Barty," Regulus answered stiffly.

"Barty Crouch Jr," said the kid, sticking out his hand. Sirius took it and, for courtesy's sake, withheld an eye roll. "And you are?"

"Sirius Black," he answered wondering if Slughorn's special guest might be Crouch Sr.

"My brother," Regulus muttered. "Barty, why don't you go sit with Avery over there, he's nice and this won't take long." Sirius choked back a laugh. Avery! Nice!

"Okay," Crouch smiled. "Nice to meet you."

They watched as Crouch made his way over to where Regulus had pointed.

"So what? The kid can't make his own friends?" Sirius asked, trying to make a joke.

"He's terrified of making friends," Regulus said, turning to face him with a look of pure loathing. "He's only a first year and people like you and your friends made his life a living hell because he's in Slytherin and he's a pure blood."

"Hey, I've never even seen him," Sirius defended.

"Like that would have made a difference! In fact, it probably would have made it worse," he said, venomously.

"Come on, he seems like a nice kid," Sirius laughed trying to cover how much his words actually hurt him.

"He is. It's a pity anyone would treat him like that," he responded, dryly. Sirius fell silent not really knowing what to say. It's not like he did anything to him. Regulus sighed, deeply and seemed to relax a bit. "Look, I'm not gonna lie for you but I won't tell her anything she doesn't ask about, Potter included. You're only invited to the Slug Club but that's the first step. She'll be fine with that for now."

"Thanks, Reg. And I promise that won't happen again, not from any of my friends. If anyone else gives you any trouble, I'll take care of it," Sirius said, sincerely. Regulus was still his brother even though he was a prat.

"I can take care of myself! How bout you tell your friends to back off the rest of us?" Regulus asked, with an accusatory glare.

"Because some of them deserve it," Sirius said, his irritation growing at an alarming rate.

"You're so fucking full of it," Regulus scoffed, turning to leave.

"Okay, wait. Maybe you're right, maybe they are nice," Sirius said, but only to keep the peace between them. Regulus rolled his eyes and looked extremely inconvenienced but stayed. "So how is Mum anyway? Still worried about granddad?"

"Of course she is," Regulus answered bitterly, probably remembering last year when he had made a joke about it in front of everyone. "I think he might be getting worse," he said with a sigh. "She hasn't actually said it, but she tells me less and less whenever I ask so it's kind of obvious."

Sirius nodded, not really sure what to say. He hated his grandfather. He remembered being deathly afraid of him whenever he came to visit. He was relieved when he found out he was too ill to travel and would be spending the rest of his days with Aunt Elladora.

"You're going to Slughorn's party, right? With the 'special guest?'" Sirius asked, trying to fill the awkward silence that fell.

"Of course, yeah. It'd be weird if I didn't, considering…." Regulus stopped and looked at him awkwardly. A sudden feeling of dread fell over him.

"Considering what?" Sirius asked.

"Er- the guest. Mum told me. It's er… Amoriel Lestrange. You know, Mum's cousin Araminta's daughter?" Regulus said.

"Yeah, I know who she is."

He had only met her once when he was 10. His parents threw a party to send him off to Hogwarts. She came and killed his cat. It was a memorable experience, he wasn't likely to forget her anytime soon.

"Brilliant. Thanks, Reg. Tell Mum I said hi," Sirius said, striding quickly away before he could ruin a relatively peaceful exchange.


	9. Operation: Borgin and Burkes; Stage One: Abbott

Madam Wryn has been the Hogwarts librarian since 1892, though most of the students liked to make jokes about her being at Hogwarts since it was founded. She was extremely old and looked even older, especially when she fell asleep in her cracked, brown leather armchair. Not even the screaming books in the restricted section could wake her the. They tested it, Eilidh and Lily had, in their first year. Not purposefully, but when Madam Wryn had drifted off they saw an opportunity to get into the otherwise constantly watched, forbidden thus extremely tempting, restricted section. They opened one book, it had screamed an ear-splitting, gut-wrenching scream, and they tucked tails and ran. Madam Wryn was none the wiser. Lily and Eilidh had made a pact to never step foot into the restricted section for the rest of their Hogwarts careers.

There was a rumour going around that Madam Wryn would be retiring at the end of the year. The thought of it being true made Eilidh sad. She didn't know the woman of course, but her experience with librarians on a whole made her have a bit of a soft spot for Madam Wryn. Librarians -normal librarians, were usually cross. Madam Wryn was the exception. Maybe it was because she was almost always fast asleep but she never seemed to care about how much noise they made, or if they opened a window, or how many books they checked out as long as they were returned on time.

Even now, when Madam Wrynn's eyelids were only starting to droop, everyone, with the exception of herself and Josie, was talking amongst themselves. Josie had her nose practically touching a book called The Official O.W.L Study Guide, with ink smudges on her chin and hands. Remus and Peter were off in a corner laughing behind their books, parchment covering their table. She laughed to herself. Sirius had said it was either this or she'd be stuck in the library researching Billywigs and now look where she was: stuck in the library, with a copy of Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them propped up on her knees, pretending to research Billywigs. She had to say she was researching Billywigs though, their venom was used in potions and she had yet to finish that essay.

She wasn't even turned to the right page, Nifflers was where she was at. They were cute, kleptomaniac, platypus looking creatures. There was a short story that Scamander had written along with it that had never failed to make her laugh.

She leant forward, wrote 'venom makes you float' on her parchment because that was about the only thing she knew about Billywigs, and checked on her targets. Persephone Machault was discussing the Goblin war with Mary MacDonald and her dorm mate Emma Fawley.

Snape was whispering with Lily, about what she didn't know. Their books were kept open on the table, their voices were low. He looked angry and defensive. She couldn't see Lily's face but could tell she was tense by the way she held her shoulders. Eilidh wondered if she should interrupt, give Lily an opportunity to bow out gracefully. It was Snape she needed to talk to anyway. She'd rather it wasn't but things were awkward between her and Machault since she had forced her to talk to James and Sirius. She didn't really blame her, it would have been a lot worse between them if it had been the other way around.

Eilidh closed her book, deciding it would be best for both herself and Lily if she interrupted their argument. She was too late though. Lily stood, gather her things, pushed in her chair, and spun around, flicking her hair out behind her. She gave a tight smile as she strode past, noticing that she had been watching. Merlin, she was livid. Eilidh decided to find her after she talked to Snape.

"I'll see you later, Josie," she said. Josie jumped, shocked by the sound of her voice but returned to her studies without reply.

Eilidh made a slow show of returning her book to its proper place, trying to see what Snape was reading. It was a black leather-bound book, its pages mouldy and crinkled. There was a picture painted on it, but she couldn't tell what it was. She stood on her toes and leant forward on the table, pretending to reach for one of the higher shelves. It was a diagram with bloodied knives, bird bones, fire, and gruesomely decapitated snakeheads.

He caught her looking and stuffed the book inside his bag. It didn't matter though, she could spot dark magic from miles away and that stuff was old, sacrificial, dark, dark magic. No wonder Lily was so teed off.

"Hey, Severus, would you mind getting that book down for me? It's just a bit out of reach," Eilidh said innocently, trying to ignore the knot in her stomach. Snape stared at her with a completely demeaning expression on his face, pointed his wand at the book she had indicated and it flew off the shelf and into her hands. "Thanks," she smiled. Snape turned away and continued packing his things. "So, how's it going?"

"Lily left," he answered.

"Ohhh, that's why she's not here," she drawled out, trying not to sound annoyed. "Where'd she go?"

"Guess she went to find that bloke that asked her to the ball," he shrugged, shifting through his parchment.

"That Ravenclaw, right?" Eilidh asked, hoping this would start a conversation.

"She thinks he might actually be in Hufflepuff. No one seems to know him in Ravenclaw," he answered, sounding annoyed.

"No one seems to know him, period. It's a bit odd, don't you think?" she asked. He groaned in response.

"You do know where the Hufflepuff house is, right?" Snape asked, swinging his book bag over his shoulder.

"I do, but I actually wanted to talk to you," Eilidh said, quickly. Snape turned to look at her, his eyes narrow, jaw tight.

"I don't really have the time," Snape said, sliding one foot toward the door.

"It'll just take a second," Eilidh said, quickly and took the seat Lily once sat in. "See, there's this guy in your house that… well, this is kind of embarrassing. Promise you won't tell anyone," Eilidh demanded, sounding like a giddy school girl.

"I… don't really care," Snape said, taking one more step toward the door.

"Pleeaase, Severus! I'll convince Lily to give up on that Ravenclaw - Hufflepuff guy," Eilidh said, smiling innocently. Snape's cheeks flushed pink.

"I don't really care about that either," snapped Snape as he spun around.

"Alright, you don't care! I get it, but I'm desperate here. I'll do anything," Eilidh said, trying to catch up with him.

"I don't really want anything from you either," Snape said, venomously.

"Okay, but how hard is it to just answer some questions about a bloke in your house? That's all I want!" Eilidh argued, running to keep up with him. He was fast for such a sickly looking boy.

"I don't give a damn about what you want!" Snape yelled, successfully beating her out of the library.

"What if I could get Potter to back off of you?" Eilidh offered. Snape turned around and stopped in front of her so suddenly she almost fell trying to stop herself from running into him.

"I don't need anything from you," Snape snarled, inches from her face. Eilidh's heart raced in her chest, her palms were sweating. Her wand was in easy access, hanging from a holster attached to her belt. She could have her wand in her hand in a second and stupefy him in three. The problem was she knew he was faster.

"Okay, sorry. I was just trying to create a you-scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours scenario," Eilidh said, taking one slow cautious step backwards. Snape glared at her, his eyes wandering over her, sizing her up. She clasped her hands behind her back, away from her wand, delaying her defence by two seconds. She was trying to look non-threatening, hoping Snape's defences would lower. She knew a nonverbal spell that would send him flying backwards, it gave her a spare second but that was all.

"Who the fuck is this bloke?" Snape asked, venomously and refused to meet her eye. His change in attitude startled her. She relaxed her stance.

"Erm, Abbott. He's head boy," she said, softly, eyes wandering over him, studying him. He had turned away from her, his head bowed as if ashamed but his jaw was still tight, and his brow frowned, his arms crossed over his chest. He was still irritable. She still needed to be careful.

"What about him?" he asked, urging her to be quick.

"I just-" she paused, wondering if she should just outright ask who he hangs out with or continue with her original plan. He was suspicious of her, she had to be careful. "Was wondering if he had a girlfriend or something, someone he was taking to the ball?"

He looked up at her, that demeaning expression on his face again. She took a deep breath, begging her pride and temper to not get the better of her.

"He's seeing an older girl, someone who's already graduated," Snape answered.

"Oh, okay. Thanks," she smiled, weakly. He gave her one last look over then turned abruptly and stalked away. She watched him go, her heart still pounding in her chest, her hands trembled. She didn't know how Lily could handle being around him for so long.

"You handled that well," said a quiet hoarse voice from behind. Eilidh jumped and spun around, her adrenaline spiking. It was only Remus, standing with Peter, watching the ordeal from the Library doors. It was a wonder why neither her nor Snape realised they were there. Or maybe that was why he had backed down. "The door wasn't completely closed when he started yelling. Thought we should come see if you needed help."

"I was the one that made him mad in the first place," Eilidh shrugged, feeling exhausted now that her adrenaline had worn off. She walked toward them dragging her feet as she went.

"Yeah, but you also calmed him down pretty quickly. You did good," Remus smiled.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Just wait till Sirius finds out you've got a crush on Abbott," Peter grinned.

"That was just my cover story! I had an actual plan," Eilidh told him, irritable though she didn't know why.

"Sure, Nicnevin. We believe you," Peter teased. She couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face.

"So did he tell you anything?" Remus asked. "I mean besides the fact that Abbott's got a girlfriend."

"Er...no but I still have Machault," she answered, feeling guilty for failing to complete her task. "Things are a little weird between us right now, but I think I can get her to talk."

"Okay, well you go ahead and talk to her and Pete and I will get started on plan B, just in case," Remus said, smiling.

Peter looked up from a parchment he held in his hands, apparently startled, and asked; "We have a plan B?"

"Yes, I just thought of it. It honestly should have been Plan A but I didn't know she was talking about Snape," Remus answered. "We will still need you for Plan B, so… just wait for us in the library, we'll come to you," he told Eilidh.

"I'll be here," Eilidh promised.

"The Plan B that should have been Plan A?" Peter question.

"Yes. Peter," Remus answered shortly and led him toward the marble staircase.

Though Eilidh was still frazzled from her episode with Snape and wanted nothing more that to just curl up on her bed with Marlene's kitten and a nicked butterbeer, she had a job to do and God be damned if she should fail to do it. She took a deep breath and marched back into the library with her head held high, feeling immensely more confident now that she had the safety net of Remus's "Plan B."

Machault had not moved from where she had last seen her, sitting with Mary and Emma Fawley. Their topic of conversation had changed from the goblin war to that of the Alum Ball. Leave it to Mary to change the topic from something as unromantic as goblins to what had been voted as the most romantic night of the year (and it hadn't even happened yet.)

"All right, Mary? Machault? And erm… Emma right?" Eilidh greeted. She didn't actually know Fawley and thought it'd be more polite to introduce herself. "I'm Eilidh," she said, smiling and shaking the girl's hand.

"Nicnevin right?" Fawley asked in a constricted tone. Eilidh nodded. "I know you."

Eilidh ignored the awkward silence that fell and the fear in Fawley's eyes hidden behind her vacant expression. It was a reaction she had come to expect when meeting those of wizard families. The name Nicnevin had long been tied to werewolves which usually invoked fear in the faint of heart

"We were just talking about the Ball," Mary said, smiling brightly but she turned her body ever so slightly so that Fawley was out of the circle.

"Right, you wanted to get a dress in Hogsmeade," Eilidh said, facing Machault.

"Mmmhmm," was the only response she deemed to give though she had no problem staring at Eilidh with a venomous expression. As previously stated, things were weird between them.

"You should wear something short. It'd make your legs look great!" Eilidh grinned, feeling a little smug. Persephone Machault was easily the tallest girl in their year. It was a fact. Unfortunately for Persephone, she was rather self-conscious about it. That was also a fact widely known because she had hexed a fifth-year boy for calling her a giantess. Eilidh knew it was wrong to use this against her. She couldn't help it. She didn't like Machault in the first place especially when she kept looking at her like she was plotting her murder.

"WOW! Thanks for the advice," she smiled wryly, still not breaking eye contact.

"That's what I was trying to tell her," Mary said. "You'd look gorgeous."

"I'll just see what they have there first. After all its Hogsmeade, not London," Machault said, rolling her eyes and grinning at Mary.

"You know, I think I'm gonna go. Catch you later Seph?" Fawley said, suddenly. Mary had pushed her so far out of the circle her voice startled them.

"Hang on, I'll come with you," Machault said, quickly.

"Actually, Seph, I wanted to ask for your advice on something. Unfortunately, Mary can't help," Eilidh said, keeping her expression pleasant. "And… sorry but it's kinda private," she said when she noticed Fawley was going to wait.

"Anything you wanna say to me you can say in front of her!" Machault declared, icily.

"Fine." Eilidh was only thinking of Machault in the first place. She knew how protective the Slytherins could be about members of their own house. "You remember what we talked about last night with-"

"Yes, I do. No, nothing has changed. No, I'm not planning on changing anything. And if that's all," Machault said, turning quickly to leave, grabbing Fawley by the arm.

"That's not all," Eilidh said, stopping her in her tracks.

Machault sighed deeply and her shoulders slumped. "Em, could you just... wait for me outside?"

"What!?" Emma exclaimed, drawing the attention of several students.

"It'll just take a second," Eilidh said, trying to reassure her. Machault waved a hand to shut her up.

"It's just… kinda embarrassing, what she's talking about," Machault muttered. Fawley looked at all three of them, clearly insulted.

"Alright. I'll be outside," she said and turned to leave. They waited until they heard the library doors close before speaking again.

"What?" Machault asked, through gritted teeth.

"We need to know who Abbott hangs out with. It could be anyone but probably not someone he was seen with today," Eilidh said, speaking quickly, wanting just as much as Machault did for their contact to end.

"I don't know! He hangs out with everyone. He's actually kinda cool," she answered and in response to their strange looks said; "before he got creepy. Take a chill pill."

"There's no one else that might be considered creepy?" Eilidh asked.

"Not that I can think of," Machault shrugged, innocently. Eilidh studied her face, looking for anything that might suggest that she was lying but she couldn't find any. Eilidh sighed. She was disappointed in herself. She wondered what James would say when he found out.

"Okay, thanks. If you remember anything or hear anything more just come and find me," Eilidh requested.

"Yeah, I will. Sorry, I couldn't be more help," Machault said, suddenly gentle.

"No, it's fine. You've already helped a lot," Eilidh smiled to reassure her. Machault nodded and walked away.

"So, you're still working with Potter?" Mary whispered.

"Did you expect me to change my mind?" Eilidh gave her half smile, knowing that Mary was only concerned.

"Kind of. I was hoping you'd go shopping with us," Mary shrugged. Eilidh grinned.

"Maybe they'll be time left over," she said, hopefully. "And remember, as far as Lily knows I'm with my brother the whole time."

"Right. Doing something geeky in the quill shop," Mary laughed.

"Exactly. Thanks, Mary. I've got to go and execute Plan B," Eilidh said, giving Mary a salute and a grin and marched off to wait for Remus and Peter outside the Library doors.


	10. Stage One: Plan B

The map had changed a lot since Peter first showed them his creation. Several passageways were added, including the one under the Whomping Willow (against Remus's wishes.) The Hufflepuff's password was added. Peter had added the Slytherin's password using the same enchantment he used for the Gryffindor's while he was alone; he seemed to like knowing something that they didn't. James and Sirius were so excited they didn't even ask how it was done, they just jumped right into planning a prank (a big one) they called Operation Snake Purge.

Only one name appeared on the map. Albus Dumbledore was usually seen pacing in his office or, like James and Sirius, having a midnight snack in the kitchen. (Thankfully James had his invisibility cloak so they had yet to be caught.) No one else had been added to the map, not even Filch. James asked to add Lily Evans. Peter laughed and called him a perv. No one had seen the map since. That was until Remus suggested they add Phineus Abbot.

Never in all of his 14 years of living did Remus think he'd be arguing with Peter about writing the name Phineas Abbott in a homemade map of Hogwarts. Nor did he think he'd ever call Peter Pettigrew stubborn. He especially did not think he'd be yelling "He could potentially kill everyone, Peter!" to win an argument but, these were dark times.

It seemed to work. Peter's stubbornly set jaw slacked a little. His arms fell from across his chest to the waistband of his jeans. He had previously stuffed the map down his pants when Remus first suggested figuring out Abbott's exact location.

"Only because it's life or death," Peter said, pulling the parchment out of his pants and handing it to Remus. Peter snatched it back quickly. "ONLY Abbot. Not Snivellus. Not James and Sirius. Not even he-who-must-not-be-named himself!"

"Don't be ridiculous Pete," Remus said, kindly. Peter gave him a "threatening" look and finally handed over the map. "I really doubt 'he-who-must-not-be-named' is his real name." Remus grinned at Peter as he moved to the writing desk.

"Ha. Ha." Peter rolled his eyes. He watched him from over his shoulder as he scrawled out Phineus Abbott in the middle of the castle. "You remember the charm?" Peter asked nervously.

"Yes, I do Peter. Don't worry," Remus said, spreading the parchment out carefully over the desk, flattening its creases.

"It's just - if you don't remember it we could wait for Sirius. He did it last time," Peter said.

"Your faith in me is truly reassuring, Peter, thank you," Remus said, brandishing his wand over the parchment. He took a deep breath and blocked Peter's voice out of his head. Steadily and very slowly he moved his wand in a counterclockwise motion over the entire parchment, carefully enunciating the words "hominum locus" causing Abbott's name to fade and disappear. He smiled victoriously at Peter, the enchantment worked. Phineas Abbott reappeared outside of the castle located on the Quidditch field.

"Do you think he's spying on their practice? James is gonna go mental," Peter said.

"We'll soon find out," said Remus storing the map in the pocket of his jumper and they scurried out of their dorm heading back to the library.

Eilidh was already waiting for them outside of the library, sitting against the wall with a book balanced in hand as the other idly twirled her wand between her fingers.

"Anything new?" Remus called, slightly worried that she wasn't waiting inside the library like he said.

"No, Machault doesn't know anything. She said everyone he hangs out with is 'cool' " she said and scrambled to her feet. "Are we ready for Plan B?"

"Yeah, we've just got to go down to the quidditch pitch, I've got a bit of a hunch that he'll be there," Remus told her.

"Just casually chillin' with his partners in crime?" Eilidh said, looking doubtful.

"We do it," Peter shrugged with a sly smile.

"He'll have to see them sooner or later, we go to Hogsmeade tomorrow. He'll want to make sure everyone's ready," Remus said, confidently. He was judging this based solely on the fact that it's what James and Sirius did every time they planned a big prank. Everything was always triple checked the night before. Of course, Abbott was older and probably working for an evil mastermind so, like James and Sirius, he used confidence to mask his doubts.

"Alright," Eilidh nodded and started toward the front door.

Abbott was crouched under the stadium watching the practice through the gaps in the stairs with the Slytherin's Quidditch captain, Johnie Waters. She was meticulously taking notes, her hand barely pausing for a moment as her head shot between the players and her notepad. Abbott watched them practicing with a mild expression on his face and never failed to give his criticism. "Dirk Cresswell must have been dropped on the head as an infant," he would say. Johnie, if she acknowledged his comments at all, would snort or chuckle but she always kept her eyes on the team. Remus wondered how her neck could bear to be in that position for so long. His hurt and he didn't even have to look so far up.

The sun had gone down about an hour ago. The stadium was lit with white fluorescent lights. James was having the time of his life. Sirius was bored out of his mind.

Cresswell had split the team into two which seemed to be Marlene McKinnon's punishment for not practicing all summer. He put her up against James with himself as beater and Sirius (who, despite his boredom, was an excellent keeper.) Marlene had the new beater Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Frank Longbottom as a Keeper (let's just say there's a reason why he was actually a Chaser.) It was cringe-worthy and difficult to watch. Remus doubted that Johnnie Waters was getting anything good out of it, yet every time she looked down she was scribbling furiously on her notepad.

"What do you think she's writing?" Remus asked, interrupting the silence between the three of them for the first time since they left the castle.

"That Marlene never looks over her right, Longbottom's got a weak wrist, probably from breaking it last year, and that Sirius is a lazy sod," Eilidh answered.

"He doesn't like being Keeper," Remus defended.

"Clearly," Eilidh said in an undertone. As much as he hated to admit it, he saw where she was coming from.

Since the game started, Sirius had taken to seeing how many weird positions he could get himself into on his broom without falling off. He started with a simple elbow on the handle, chin resting in hand position, then he was hanging upside down (he almost missed the quaffle three times before Cresswell yelled at him,) and now he was laying on his back, one leg hanging loose the other perked up on his broomstick, both hands folded behind his head.

"He's never going to stop anything that way. OY BLACK!" Eilidh screamed. Remus was not at all surprised that Sirius could hear her. His head shot up and he was actually grinning as he waved at them. "MOVE YOUR ARSE!" And he did, just not in the way she wanted. Instead, he spun around and flew towards them landing gracefully at her side.

"What are you lot doing here? You're supposed to be doing research," he said.

"You're supposed to be guarding the damn posts," Eilidh said, her voice too loud to be considered normal conversation though she was not yelling… yet.

"You're supposed to be gathering intel," Sirius returned. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Completely wasting our time," Peter sighed moodily. He was sprawled out, on the other side of Remus with his arm thrown over his eyes, trying to block out the light.

"We are spying," Remus said.

"Yes, the Slytherins are paying us. Seems we've completely lost our self-respect and morals," Eilidh said pointedly and inclined her head in the slightest bit, moving Sirius's attention to where Abbott was under the stairs now watching them instead of the team. Sirius's eyes flickered and he grinned.

"Is she one of them?" he whispered.

"Don't think so and she said he was only talking to boys so it's not likely," Eilidh answered in a low voice. "You need to get back out there! Cresswell's gonna kick you off the team if you keep acting like this!"

"I haven't missed a Quaffle yet, don't get your knickers in a twist," Sirius said then continued in a whisper, "So what're you doing here? What did you find out?"

"Nothing, except he's got a girlfriend outside of Hogwarts, which is obviously not serious considering how close his hand is to her arse," Eilidh whispered back. Remus was starting to get nervous. Abbott had whispered something to Johnie. She took a quickly glance over her shoulder then turned back to the game, apparently uninterested. Abbott, however, still watched them intently.

"So you're tailing him?" Sirius whispered and Eilidh nodded.

"Sirius, you really should get back out there," Remus said in a loud voice.

"He's right. And stop messing around! You've got a responsibility to the team and the house, so don't muck it up," Eilidh said, pushing him a little.

"I'd like to see you get out there and do it without getting bored," Sirius snorted.

"From what I've seen I could fly circles around you," Eilidh said, haughtily.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! IF YOU DON'T GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW I WILL MAKE SURE EVERYONE IN THE SCHOOL KNOWS ABOUT YOUR RAINBOW PANTS!" James yelled, chasing Marlene at top speed. Sirius didn't waste a second more. He jumped on his broom, flew as quick as he could but instead of cutting in front of Marlene, he cut in front of James. Marlene, with a smug grin, continued forward and threw the quaffle through one of the hoops. James pushed Sirius back in front of the posts and gave him the finger before diving for the quaffle. He tossed it to Sirius who tossed it back, setting it back into play, and flew to the other end of the field, raising higher as he went. He curved toward the stadium and soon he was directly overhead. Remus assumed he was dodging Marlene's advances. Then James did something that was completely un-James-like. He dropped the quaffle. Marlene dived for it and, instead of diving out in front of her, he circled her seeming to want to slow her down or throw her off course.

This all made sense though when the quaffle landed directly on the step Abbott and Johnnie were hiding under. Johnnie screamed. Abbott started and hit his head. Then they scrambled over each other, trying to beat each other out from under the stadium. By the time the quaffle was rolling on the grass the were out and running back to the castle.

"Hey, Captain!" Sirius called, distracting Cresswell's attention from Kingsley Shacklebolt. "A couple of snakes were spying on our practice!" Sirius pointed to Abbott and Johnnie's fading forms. Cresswell turn following his direction spotted the pair and flew forward in a blur bring the rest of the team with him.

Peter was on his feet before Remus could even register what was bound to happen. All three of them ran down the stadium's steps, across the field, and just barely met the team as Marlene was pushing Cresswell out of the way.

"I'll do it if you refuse to hex a girl!" she spat dangerously holding the tip of her wand to Johnie's throat, her free hand pulled on Johnie's wrist holding her still. James, Sirius, and Frank held Abbott at wand point, his wand had been thrown somewhere to the left of him.  
"McKinnon stand down!" Cresswell ordered, one hand reached out for Marlene the other was placed firmly on Kingsley's chest. Marlene made no move to do as Cresswell asked. "Marlene, you'll have extra laps for a month if you don't let her go!"

Marlene, with a moment's hesitation, released her hold on Johnie's wrist and slowly stepped away from her, her wand still pointing to her throat.

"Thank you," Cresswell said as she fell to his side. "The rest of you, let Abbott go. He's not even on the Quidditch team."

"Dirk are you daft?!" Frank said in disbelief.

"Cresswell, we can't just let him go!" James protested.

"Yes we can and we will if any of us want to play Quidditch," Cresswell said firmly. At the threat James and Frank, reluctantly, lowered their wands. Sirius, however, kept his on Abbott's chest.

"He really doesn't give a damn about Quidditch," Eilidh muttered.

"Black," Cresswell said, trying to sound firm but it came out more like a plea. James nudged Sirius in the ribs and only then did he lower his wand and pushed Abbott away with enough force to send him stumbling and almost falling backward. For a second it seemed as if he would stay, but eyes flickered from the back of Johnie's head to Cresswell's eye, and he turned to leave, fetching his wand along the way.

"Johnie, what are you doing here?" Cresswell asked as if Johnie had merely been caught in the wrong toilet.

"Just came to see an old friend play, Dirk," Johnie said smoothly.

"'Old friend'?" Peter muttered. Remus shrugged.

"Right, taking notes on his performance," James said, hotly.

Johnie smiled, a humorless smile and made no remark but Remus noticed that she held her hand firmly over her left pocket as if trying to stop something from falling out. Her fingers curled around whatever was inside and she flashed narrow eyes directly onto Eilidh.

Eilidh had her wand out and pointed to Johnie's pocket. She paused when Johnie looked at her, smiled toothily, and said loudly and plainly, "Accio notebook!" The notebook flew through Johnie's clutches and into Eilidh's waiting hands. Johnie's vehement exclamation and insults for Eilidh went ignored as she opened the notebook.

'Captain fails to control team,' she read out loud, 'especially new members- Black #9, keeper and #3, beater - that's Shacklebolt. Seeker not at practice. #5, chaser - that's Marlene - unobservant, right. Potter#4 - chaser, overconfident. #6 chaser - Frank - weak wrist. Black #9 - is a lazy sod."

"It does not say that!" Sirius interrupted, heatedly.

"It basically does!" Eilidh yelled back.

"Enough!" Cresswell said, silencing them both.

"Yes, sir. You'll be wanting this, reckon you'll find it useful," Eilidh said, handing the notebook to Cresswell.

"Thanks. Johnie, I'm sorry but I'll be seeing Slughorn about this," Cresswell said, turning back to Johnie who, throughout the whole ordeal, was quite expressionless.

"Of course you will," Johnie said and tossed her head and strode away. Cresswell sighed heavily and waited until Johnie was well enough away before beckoning his team closer.

"Can you believe her?" James started, staring venomously at Johnie's small receding form.

"She's a gutless snake but she's right," Eilidh said.

"You think I'm overconfident!" James said, indignantly.

"Why not, she thinks I'm a lazy sod," Sirius added.

"Enough!" Cresswell ordered. "You, you're not on the team so you can shut it," he told Eilidh. "It was a good practice, better than I was expecting. We'll talk more about it on Sunday - don't forget it's an early morning practice. Alright, Frank, you were late so you can stay and help me clean up. The rest of you have a good time a Hogsmeade and don't forget nothing stronger than butterbeer."

"Sure, Cresswell," James smirked, probably remembering when he found him half drunk on firewhiskey last term.

"Get out of here and shower for the love of God, you all smell like trolls!" Cresswell laughed.


	11. Plan B prt 2

It was hard to say exactly how ideas came to James Potter but he always seemed to have one. He was always struck with some grand epiphany or another that usually led to mischief, trouble, and - in the common unlucky circumstance - detention. Perhaps these unlucky circumstances weren't uncommon because James always admitted to his wrong doings. There were few exceptions, as there always are, but they usually involved a greater cause. Like when they got caught stealing Mandrake leaves from the greenhouse. He had lied through his teeth then but the Mandrake leaves were for Remus. For the most part, James Potter owned his shit. There was never any cover up or excuse, he'd simply raise his hand and say "that was me."  
Those were two of the things Sirius liked best about James. Maybe it was because of this that he'd always raise his hand and say "me too!"

That's what James liked best about Sirius. He always had his back no matter the risk. So that is why, when he watched his feet stride firmly across the stone floor of the Entrance Hall and he saw his laces slowly coming untied, he thought of tripping, then he thought of falling, and of course he thought of how funny it would be to see other people fall, he only thought of the immediate and most probably consequences and he grinned.

He stopped in his tracks not wanting to leave the Hall and grinned some more. Sirius, whose attention he'd gained by his abrupt halt, was instantly intrigued and ready for what was to come. He arched his brow, enticing James to share his idea.

He looked around before he did, checking to see that the various doors surrounding them were still intent on staying shut then said in a hushed urgent voice;

"Remember that charm you were teaching the second years at tutoring last year? The freezing charm?"

"Yeah, I had to re-write my potions essay from scratch because that little berk -" was his response. James, deciding that they didn't have time for a backstory because the Quidditch team and chosen victims were bound to approach at any moment, interrupted him.

"Do you think we could use it to freeze the Entrance Hall," James said conversationally while smirking.

"I don't … maybe if we… James Potter, you'll be the death of me," Sirius said, suppressing a smile. He took out his wand and got to work, spraying water onto the floor then quickly freezing it. James watched him do it a second time to make sure he knew how it was done then started in the opposite direction.

Before long they were separated by a frozen sheet that gleamed in the light of the fiery torches. James stood on the marble steps while Sirius clung to a suit of armour for balance. They grinned at each other, proud of the work they had done.

"Try it out, see how slippery it is," Sirius whispered up to him. It wasn't necessary. He could see Sirius's feet fighting for traction beneath him. It did look like fun.

James gingerly placed one foot then another onto the icy floor. As he let go of the bannister he began to slide toward Sirius as if on an incline.

"Excellent," he grinned. He leant back just enough so he'd slide faster and ended up colliding into Sirius. They both laughed resulting in them losing their balance and falling onto their bottoms which only caused them to laugh more. Their voices ricocheted off of the stony walls of the Entrance Hall. Oddly it sounded emptier than it had before they added ice.

They were so wrapped up in their own amusement that they didn't realise the volume their laughter produced. As consequence the night was no longer quiet; the castle began to stir, ghosts floated from room to room with as much rigor as they did in the day, professors left their offices to look down their respective corridors, Mr Filch began to prowl, studious students were momentarily distracted from their books though they quickly returned. However, there are always students who were up to no good and it was those students who came to inspect. The first was a friendly face.

Eilidh Nicnevin, startled by the noise owing to the fact that she was left alone in a dark and deserted corridor, came to find the source. She peered through the door to the left of them that led to several classrooms. Upon seeing that it was merely her partners in crime she let the door swing creakily open so as to announce herself.

The boys looked up from their positions on the floor and were startled into silence. The candlelight reflected in her eyes adding a sparkle to them, it added colour to her usually pale complexion and a shine to her hair. Under normal circumstances they found her to be quite plain but in this setting, she looked rather pretty.

"James, I think we might have to sack her. This is the second time tonight I found her slacking off," Sirius said sounding earnest but there was a distinct twitch in the corners of his mouth.

"I was actually waiting for Remus and Peter to come back. They had some mysteri-AHHA! Whoa-" her statement was finished by a groan of pain and a whispered string of swears. She had taken one step into the Entrance Hall and fell flat on her back having not noticed the fresh ice on the floor. Being chivalrous Gryffindors, James and Sirius slid laughing toward her to help her to her feet. They had to hold onto each other for support to stand.

"Thanks, Nicnevin, you just confirmed that our plan is foolproof," James smirked. Eilidh nudged him playfully but still caused him to fall and bring her and Sirius down with him.

There was a chaotic moment when they all scrambled to untangle their limbs and struggled to get to their feet. At best they would make it to their knees before falling again. They laughed through the chaos, their voices rising again like a chorus of fun and the castle stirred once more.

"Sirius get off of me!" Eilidh screamed with laughter. Sirius had landed on her in a painful looking position. He made to get up but thought the better of it and said,

"Hang on!" He grabbed her arms and pinned them at the sides of her head. "Take it back first."

"Take what back? Sirius get off," she laughed, trying to wriggle her arms free of his grip.

"Say I'm not a lazy sod," he said, trying to look firm but there was no denying the grin on his face.

"I'll take it back when you actually try to be a good keeper," Eilidh said defiantly. Sirius arched an eyebrow, smirked, then attacked her waist, tickling her to the point of screaming. James caught hold of her arms and held them away from Sirius so he could continue with his torture. "Alright! Alright! You're not a lazy sod!" she screamed. Immediately, Sirius stopped, James let go of her arms, and they looked at each other smugly. Eilidh got to her feet and, now perfectly balance, made her way to the bannister. While she did she shouted back, "you're just a stubborn sod with lazy tendencies!"

"Why you-" Sirius shouted after her. He got to his feet, pulling James with him and they both chased the laughing Eilidh up the stairs.

They had reached the top before they realised that her mood had changed. She was suddenly alert and fearful. She watched the corridor to the right as she hid in the shadows of the left and she pulled them behind her so they too would be hidden by the darkness.

They tried to peer around her to see who the figure making their way towards them was but the corridor was too dark. It didn't seem the time to ask questions even whispered ones so James and Sirius both stayed quiet and watched as the dark figure grew closer and listened as Eilidh's breath hitched with every quickened step the figure took.

The beginning and end of the marble staircase were lit by a torch's flame so as the figure grew nearer they began to realise who it was. It was unmistakeable. The spindly body hidden under loose, baggy muggle clothes. The hair so greasy it looked wet. The pallid face of Severus Snape shined under the light of the torch as he turned to make his way down the marble steps.

James tried with every ounce of self-control in his being to not make their presence known. They had much bigger problems than Snape to deal with tonight. Yet, as he tried to make his mind focus only on Abbot, the image of Lily and Snape's embrace from the night before broke through. Still, he clenched his fists and held them firmly at his sides while he bit his tongue, determined to stay quiet.

"Are you afraid of Snape, Eilidh?" Sirius whispered, sounding slightly amused.

"No," she said defensively. "I've just run into him enough for one day."

That was enough for James. Eilidh, despite her objections, was clearly frightened by Snape's sudden appearance. The thought that Snape had done something to make a girl who runs around with werewolves afraid of him pushed him over the edge.

"All right, Snivellus?" James said loudly as he stepped out of the shadow. He pushed Eilidh's attempts at stopping him off and stepped into the light. Snape didn't recognise his voice at first. He turned around with a haughty sneer on his face until he saw James and Sirius standing atop of the stairs then, much to James's satisfaction, a look of fear fell over him.

"Where ya goin'?" James asked, sounding nonchalant. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and clutched his wand.

"None of your business," Snape said quickly and turned away. He marched down the steps two at a time.

"Oh, don't be like that. We're just trying to make friendly conversation," Sirius grinned. He and James followed Snape down the steps.

"James! Sirius, come on we've got to get Remus and Peter!" Eilidh said, lurching out of the shadow and after them.

"Yeah, that's where we're going, but I wanna know where Snivellus is going," James drawled. He smirked as Snape quickened his pace.

"As I said, it's none of your business," Snape said, his voice tight. James's smirk widened as he neared the last step.

"Well, wherever you're going, I hope you have a nice trip." James bit his lip in anticipation, his eyes focused on Snape's feet. Severus, in his haste to get away, decided to skip the last step and jump. He fell, instantly, forward. He was quick enough to catch himself. Sirius snorted and James grinned wickedly. Snape pushed himself up but lost balance and he flailed about trying to find it again. James and Sirius fell into a fit of laughter. Eilidh, who stood rigidly behind them with her wand in hand, looked as if she wanted to laugh but for whatever reason held herself back.

Snape fell again, this time landing on his face. He used the bannister to climb to his feet. He faced the three of them with a look of the utmost contempt, his face red with anger.

"What the hell was that?" Snape sneered.

"Don't blame us for your shoddy equilibrium," Sirius laughed. Snape glowered at him.

"Idiot," he breathed.

There was a blinding flash of light. Snape flew back very suddenly and with enough force that would suggest that someone had punched him in the chest. James had attacked. Sirius, after realising this, whipped out his wand. When Eilidh realised she took a step forward, intent on pulling James back. James, however, moved forward before she got a chance to touch him.

"Insult my friend again, Snivellus, and I'll kick your arse," James said, threateningly.

"I'd like to see you try, Potter," Snape snarled, getting as quickly as he could manage to his feet. James moved forward once again but this time Eilidh caught him by the back of his robes. Sirius pulled on her arm, trying to set him free.

"Why is it that there's always a girl around to save you?" James snarled after struggling to break free.

"One of these days it'll be just you and me, Potter, then you'll see," Snape said, ominously. Then he did something that surprised James and Sirius. He walked away, towards the door that led to the dungeons. He still looked furious. His knuckles were white as he held his wand tightly in hand, his jaw clenched, his nostrils flared, his eyes hard and focused on the path in front of him.

"See what? You falling on your face again! Think I'd pay to see that, wouldn't you James," Sirius laughed, trying to goad Snape into responding. James was too stunned to reply. He had hurt him and embarrassed him and all he got was a half arsed threat. He was deeply unsatisfied. He hoped that Snape would at least say something back to Sirius but all they heard in return was the door slamming shut behind him. The exchange initially meant to calm the beast that was awakened in James, only angered him more.

With Snape gone, Eilidh finally let go of him. Sirius and James both turned back to look at her. James with a look along the lines of the 'what-the-hell-is-your-problem' sort and Sirius with a blank face, a look he reserved for when he was expecting to be scolded.

"Well, let's get it over with," Sirius said, crossing his arms. Eilidh eyed James reproachfully and James never broke eye contact even when she turned to face Sirius.

"Get what over with?" she asked, moving through the space between them and stepping out onto the ice.

"Whatever you have to say about Snivellus. We're idiots and arseholes and whatever else," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. Eilidh stopped her sliding steps and turned back to them.

"I don't know what to say," she said carefully.

"That's a first," James scoffed, stepping towards her.

"It's just - he's Lily's friend," she said definitively.

"Yeah, great friend he is," James returned, sounding like he blamed her for Snape and Lily being friends.

Instantly recognising Eilidh's defiant expression and James's still edgy mood, Sirius strode forward, towards the door from where Eilidh came and said loudly, "Where did Remus and Peter leave you, Eilidh?"

"The lavatory," she said shortly.

She kept her eyes on James even as they walked down the corridor. Sirius decided it would be best to let them have a moment alone so he jogged ahead and disappeared behind the door that led to the toilets. James huffed and sank into the wall, avoiding Eilidh's eye.

"I don't like him, you know," Eilidh said, suddenly, "Snape. He's… well, he's something else."

"That's a nice way of putting it," James snorted. Eilidh sank down next to him.

"I see Lily's side of things and for her, I can't stand by while he's in an unfair fight," Eilidh said. James nodded slowly and took a moment to think about what she said.

"I never thought of that," he said. "Sorry."

"S'okay," she smiled.

"You erm… you said you ran into him earlier today. What happened?" James asked, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, I just… I thought he might have some information on Mr Hogsmeade," Eilidh said weakly. James nodded to indicate that he understood that she meant Abbot. "He didn't really like me asking him questions, probably because he thought I was spying on him, to begin with… which I guess I was."

There was a moment's pause.

"I really hope you didn't draw too much attention to yourself," James said. He tried to keep any aggression he might have out of his voice but his emotions were still running high and if she had caught too much attention she could have possibly ruined the mission.

"I don't think so. I made it look like I had a crush on him. Which by the way, if Peter says anything, is not true," Eilidh promised, a smile playing on her lips.

"Good to know," James smirked.

"James, we've got a problem," Sirius said, coming out of the toilet with Remus and Peter in tow

"What happened?" James asked.

"He's er, well he's in his common room," Remus answered and looking at Eilidh added, "sorry for leaving you so long by the way."

"All right, do we know the password?" James said, looking at Peter.

"Yeah, but -" Peter said.

"Then we're fine," James shrugged. "Lupin, be a mate and get my invisibility cloak will you?" James sent a subtle smirk to Eilidh.

"James, I'm not your house elf. Besides we all can't fit under there," Remus said.

"Remus Moon-"

"Don't."

"child Lupin! I would never consider you to be my house elf! I simply requested that, as my mate, you'd run upstairs and fetch my invisibility cloak from the you-know-where in my you-know-what," James said, simply.

"Are invisibility cloaks even allowed at Hogwarts?" Eilidh asked, incredulously.

"Welcome to the vigilante club, we have access to the kitchen," Sirius grinned.

"I am not-"

"Remus please," James said, pouting his lip, "I'm all sore from Quidditch."

"You're all sore from sitting on a broom?" Remus muttered stomping toward the door. "If I go out there and find Peeves waiting with a cream pie there will be hell to pay!"

"There's no point in you going now anyway. Listen," Sirius said, holding a finger up. There was a definite sound of a large group of people making their way to the front doors of the castle. "I think it's about time for the Quidditch team to show up."

They all hurried forward and hid behind the door, waiting for the unsuspecting Quidditch team to walk into their slippery fate.

Marlene came first. Her body was completely turned toward those behind her as she laughingly agreed with someone's joke. Then she slipped. Frank Longbottom and Kingsley Shacklebolt caught her before she hit the ground. Cresswell had the misfortune of running into them. All four of them fell landing in a pile of tangled bodies. Their exclamations of pain and insults to whoever's elbow was in their ribs or whose knees had hit their face echoed loudly enough to cover the laughter of the guilty party.

What it didn't cover was Filch angrily stomping down the steps as he yelled for them "shut it! Or it'll be-!" Filch fell head over feet before he could finish his threat. He spun, screaming and with his legs in the air, across the floor.

Peeves flew in overhead, laughing and singing a crude song about Filch being sprawled on the floor. Filch sputtered and spat with anger.

"Good evening," said a very calm, stern voice. Silence fell almost instantly. Peeves floated in the air, a thoughtful look crossing his grinning face, then disappeared with a loud pop. The Marauders and Eilidh crept into the Hall. Everyone looked at the tall man wearing purple robes embroidered with gold stars, waiting for him to speak. "You seem to be having some difficulty walking across a usually very steady floor."

"It was my idea," James said, stepping further into the room.

"An interesting one at that," Dumbledore returned with a hint of a smile that made his moustache twitch.

"I helped," Sirius said, moving next to James.

"No doubt," Dumbledore nodded, his eyes twinkling.

"Professor," Remus said, feeling compelled to defend his friends, despite his sweaty palms and dry throat. "That haven't actually broken any school rules."

"It's destruction of school, property Professor! Don't let him fool-" Mr Filch yelled, his legs shook as he tried to find his balance.

"Thank you, Argus. I assure you, I won't," Dumbledore said sternly, and Mr Filch fell silent. He turned back to James and Sirius. Both had adopted a look of pure innocence while Remus remained expressionless beside them. "I will not be taking away house point," he started. Every Gryffindor in the room breathed a sigh of relief. "And because you did not, I assume, intend to harm anyone with your-"

"Practical joke."

"Harmless prank."

"Good-hearted fun."

James and Sirius suggested.

"Yes," Dumbledore smiled. "I will not be giving you detention," James and Sirius sighed in relief while Filch made a noise of disgust, "and thus ruin your streak of good behaviour. You have done very well this year."

"Thank you, sir," Sirius and James said together.

"You're welcome," Dumbledore nodded. "However, as Mr Filch has kindly reminded me, this is destruction of property and cannot go unnoticed. Therefore, you will get up early tomorrow morning and clear the ice away. 6:00 should give you ample amount of time, would you agree?"

"Yes, sir," James and Sirius mumbled. Filch groaned and muttered his way to his office.

"Very well. Everyone, please return to your dormitories, it is almost curfew," Dumbledore said. He stepped onto the ice and slid gracefully across the room. "Good night," he said and disappeared behind the doors.

"You had better not get yourself kicked off the Quidditch team again, Potter," Cresswell threatened. The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

"Relax we didn't even get a detention," James shrugged and led them up the stairs toward Gryffindor tower. "Any chance a brilliant seventh year like you knows a good spell to get rid of a room full of water?" James asked, conversationally.

"Try Evanesco. I've only used it on small things, mostly cauldrons but it might work," Cresswell said, heavily. Upon reaching the common room he finally said, "Listen, Potter. I know you're just having fun."

"Mate, we'll be careful. Trust me. I don't want to lose quidditch. We'll be toeing the line this year. Right, Sirius?" James promised, nudging his friend.

"Yea totally. We'll be right on the line," Sirius agreed.

"And not a hair out of place," Cresswell ordered, pointing a finger at both of them. He turned to leave before they could respond. Frank passed with a smile and a nod while rubbing a lump on his head. Kingsley Shacklebolt passed with an awkward grin.

"If I have a bruise on my bum because of you two, you'll wake up to find your hair blue," Marlene threatened.

"An interesting response, McKinnon. You've always made a worthy opponent," James nodded and crossed his arms. Marlene eyed him then turned with a flick of her hair to stomp across the almost empty common room.

"If I find any of my butterbeer missing Eilidh-" she shouted.

"You'll know it wasn't me because I haven't been up there since this morning," Eilidh said, talking over her. Marlene huffed, flicked her hair again and stomped up the steps toward the girls' dormitories.

"Right, you lot should get to bed too," James said, herding Peter, Eilidh, and Remus toward the dormitory steps.

"Um, I still have a job to do," Eilidh argued.

"You've done enough today. Sirius and I haven't done anything except class and Quidditch. It's our turn," James said, conclusively.

"We can't let you have all the fun, Nicnevin," Sirius smirked. Eilidh eyed him looking slightly put out.

"You need to be at full strength for tomorrow, there's likely to be a good fight," James grinned, leading her with an arm around her waist toward the girls' dorms.

"Right," she said, her voice flat and expressionless.

"How are you at duelling anyway?" Sirius asked.

"I can hold my own," Eilidh shrugged.

"Good. We'll meet you in the Entrance Hall after breakfast," Sirius said, opening the door and waving her through the threshold. She eyed both of them, looking stubborn and resolute.

"You're lucky I'm tired, or there'd be a heated argument about this," Eilidh said.

"I've come to expect nothing less," Sirius smirked. Eilidh passed through the door then turned back to look at them.

"Just because I'm a girl-"

"Remus and Peter are going to bed too," James said.

"We'll see," Remus muttered. James and Sirius smiled, ignoring Remus's remark and waited until Eilidh started up the stairs before herding Peter and Remus towards their dormitory.

"What happened to we're all in this together? We're all apart of this group. We're with each other 'till the end?" Remus argued, fighting against Sirius pushing him up the steps.

"That's why we're doing this," Sirius grunted.

"Sirius and I have done next to nothing all day, Remus," James said and helped Sirius by pulling on his arms. "Besides, your furry little problem tends to wear you out."

"Oh, don't give me that rubbish!" Remus yelled in a whisper as he strode through the door of their dormitory.

"I know it sucks, but it's true," Sirius said, gently.

"The full moon was weeks ago and the next one is far enough away that its effects haven't started yet. I am at my prime," Remus argued.

"You are tired because we keep waking you up early in the morning," James said.

"Peter and I are going," Remus said, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm actually really tired. And I have to wake up early to keep up with this animagus thing," Peter said, apologetically.

"Thank you, Peter, for being reasonable and responsible. Please don't forget to set your alarm," Sirius said.

"See, Remus you need to stay and make sure Peter doesn't sleep through his alarm. If he doesn't we'll have to start this whole thing over and you'll have to deal with our vow of silence again," James said. This seemed to break down Remus slightly. He glared through narrow eyes and a tight jaw at the pair of them.

"What are you planning on doing anyway?" Peter asked.

"Just gonna see if he's in the common room. Then see who he talks to and what not," James answered.

"And if he's not there?" Remus asked.

"We'll spend the night there. Sirius'll finally get to see what it's like to be a Slytherin," James grinned. Sirius gave him a scathing look but said nothing.

"Have you actually lost your mind?" Remus asked, irritably.

"Yeah. If you spot it anywhere let me know," James joked, hoping to calm Remus's exasperation.

"Remus, that's enough! You'll go to bed even if I have to stupefy you into it!" Sirius said, firmly. James withheld a laugh. Peter shrank. Remus blinked rather quickly.

"Thanks, Dad, I'll take that under consideration," Remus returned.

"I'll do it," Sirius threatened, taking out his wand.

"All right," James said stepping up and forcing Sirius's arm down. "Remus be reasonable about this."

Remus clenched his jaw and stared James down seeming intent on burning a hole in his face. Neither of them backed down for several seconds.

"You're not spending the night in the Slytherin dungeons. Not after everything you've done to them," Remus said, firmly. James nodded.

"Remus you're being -"

"All right. We'll try to make it back before midnight," James conceded, startling Sirius into silent disbelief. Remus nodded.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered, digging through his trunk.

"Pete, could we borrow the map?" James asked, moving to his own trunk for his invisibility cloak. Peter moved quickly from his bed with his arm outstretched, his map in hand.

"Don't do anything to it," he muttered sleepily.

"Could we add a bit more to the Slytherin common room and stuff?" James asked, taking the parchment. Peter nodded, then snuggled back onto his pillow still in his school robes. James and Sirius moved quickly to the door while Remus growled and grumbled his way into bed.

"Night, Moonchild," Sirius said.

"Good night," Remus said shortly, then quickly rolled away from them, wrapping himself in his blankets. Sirius chuckled and James smirked.

They made their way back to the Entrance Hall, under the protection of the invisibility cloak. They did not touch the icy floor in case Dumbledore should return and thus know that they were out of bed.

They walked through the dungeons for a while, not quite remembering where the camouflaged door was hidden. Running out of patience, Sirius took the map from James, tapped it in the general location of the Slytherin's common room so the password (Carpe Noctem) appeared. He tapped the walls with his wand, muttering the password as he did until one of them slid noisily aside revealing a large, stone doorway.

"You don't think they heard-"

"Shhhh."

James pressed forward quickly forcing Sirius to clutch his robes so he'd stay covered by the invisibility cloak. They entered a room with rough stone walls that was lit with a green hue of round lamps hanging from chains on the ceiling. A fire was slowly dying under an elaborately carved mantelpiece straight ahead of them and two Slytherins were silhouetted around it in high-backed chairs.

"Was that the door?" Snape's voice came in a whisper as he turned slightly toward his companion.

"Hmm, I think it was the squid. Hagrid sometimes doesn't feed him so he doesn't forget how to hunt for his own food," Abbot responded, barely looking up from his book.

"Sounded like the door," Snape muttered, but returned to his book nonetheless.

Neither of them moved again for what felt like several hours. James and Sirius settled themselves in a corner out of the way of anyone who might venture through. No one did. They were bored, tired, and irritated because Abbot didn't seem to have any friends he'd be willing to commit an illegal and potentially lethal act with.

James had fallen asleep uncomfortably on Sirius's shoulder. Sirius was so bored he was seriously considering changing his hair to blue and attempting to convince him that Marlene had done it. It would be amusing to see how frustrated he'd get. Then Snape stood. Excitement bubbled in his chest. He nudged James awake. They watched Snape head up the stairs. James pulled on the sleeve of his robes, indicating that he should get up.

"What about Abbot?" Sirius said in a barely audible whisper.

"He hasn't moved. Probably asleep," James whispered back.

They edged forward, taking slow deliberate steps. Abbot shifted. They froze. He let out a soft snore.

"See," James said. They hurried up the steps after Snape, still careful to stay silent.

Snape's dorm room was very much like theirs. Sans the wall covered in embarrassing pictures, the only differences were the green and silver decor and their window was under the Black Lake. There was a grindylow with its face pressed up against the glass leaving James and Sirius to wonder if they could see through invisibility cloaks. They waited against the wall shadowed by one of the beds (just in case) for Snape to fall asleep.

When he was quite sure they had waited long enough, James tugged off the invisibility cloak and took out a bottle of Bulbadox Powder from his robes.

"Where'd you get that?" Sirius breathed.

"Nicked it from Filch's office awhile back," James grinned over his shoulder. He crept forward and sprinkled a generous amount of powder onto Snape's school robes.

"Reckon Avery needs some too?" Sirius asked, peering through the curtains of the neighbouring bed. James tossed the bottle into Sirius's waiting hands and watched as he set to work, getting not only his school robes but the inside of his socks too.

They flew out of the room as quickly and quietly as they could while suppressing giggles. Once back in the Common Room they found Abbot still snoozing in his chair, head resting in hand, abandoned book barely balancing on his knee. The thought of waiting for him to wake or for someone to come and get him was bleak.

"What if we just make a noise? Startle him a bit?" Sirius suggested.

"And risk him finding us here with the cloak?" James challenged.

Sirius shrugged as if the risk was nothing more than a paper cut.

James moved forward, slowly. A small voice in the back of his head told him that the risk definitely was not worth the means. He couldn't stop though. It was as if something inside him was pushing him forward, daring him to find out if he could get away with it. He reached out a hand. He felt Sirius tense beside him, as if on edge. He watched as his hand floated in the air like it didn't have a body. His fingers pinched the sleeves of Abbot's robes and pulled quickly.

Abbot's head fell causing his forehead to smack into the arm of his chair. His book fell to the floor with an audible thud. Sirius choked down his laughter as James scrambled to get all of his limbs under the cloak while they silently moved backwards, crouching low so their feet were completely covered.

"Fuck, that hurt!" Abbot exclaimed, rubbing the reddened spot on his forehead. He looked once about the room, picked up his book, and strode angrily to his dormitory never knowing that he was being followed.

The light of day was muffled by the Black Lake and the algae that grew around the edges of the window. The water did allow waves of light in a greenish hue to silhouette the furniture of the dormitory giving the room an odd shipwrecked feel.

The problem was, James didn't know if sunrise had passed yet. He did know that he had woke up in a seventh year Slytherin dormitory only half covered by his Invisibility Cloak. Sirius had moved so much in his sleep that most of the cloak was snaked around his leg making it sort of a checkered board of visibility. He also knew that they needed to get out of their as quickly as possible or the Slytherins would have a very good motive for murder.

He kicked Sirius's shoe and pulled his cloak so it would uncoil itself from Sirius's leg. Sirius woke with a start, looking utterly confused by his surroundings. Neither of them had planned on falling asleep there.

Sirius mouthed, "Oh, shit!" and they clambered out of the dormitory pulling the cloak over them along the way. They had to dodge several Slytherins (mostly third years too excited about their first Hogsmeade trip to sleep in) mulling their way around the Common Room. They held their breath as they passed Professor Slughorn going into his classroom.

When they finally reached the Entrance Hall, James dragged Sirius across the still icy floor toward the large oak front doors, determined to know if they had missed the sunrise. He was delighted to see that the sun had not yet left the horizon.

"Thank Merlin," James breathed, pulling off the cloak, crumpling it up, and stuffing it into his pocket. James and Sirius took out their wands. They placed the tip of it to their hearts and chanted together, "amato, animo, animato, animagus," just as the sun had completely risen. They waited until the foreign heartbeat that sputtered inside them every time they performed the incantation vanished.

"That was close," Sirius said, panting. His second heartbeat was apparently extremely fast.

"Yeah, it was." James nodded in agreement. "I wonder how mad Remus is gonna be. We did promise him we'd be back by midnight."

"You did, mate, not me," Sirius said, striding back through the door.

"Thanks, Sirius, good lookin' out," James responded sarcastically.

They set to work on opposite sides of the room as they had last night. They cleared away the ice with a simple melting charm then a quick "evanesco" to stop the water from flooding. It was longer and harder than it had been to freeze the room but James supposed that that was the whole point of the punishment.

Slowly students started coming in for breakfast. Each of them would slow down momentarily to watch James and Sirius work. They would just continue on as if they weren't there unless they heard the door to the dungeons opening then they would pause to see who was coming but then they went right back to work. That was until they heard the person whom they had been waiting for coming through the dungeon doors.

"Don't be stupid, Will," Abbot said, sounding very sure of himself. James and Sirius ducked into the broom closet so they wouldn't be seen and watch through a crack in the door. Abbot came strutting in with two others in his year walking shoulder to shoulder some distance away from him.

"But, are you even sure he'll let us in if we somehow pull this off?" said one of his friends, his voice dripping with apprehension.

"When we pull this off, it will get his attention. Make him see that we're much more than what Malfoy made us out to be," Abbot responded.

"So we're not even getting in after this? Is it really worth getting expelled over?" the other said defiantly.

"Listen. I can't have you two mucking this up for me, so you need to make up your mind now," Abbot said, stopping to turn and look at them. The other two froze and looked at each other. "Barker, mate," he said, placing a hand on the scared looking one's shoulder. "You in?"

Barker's eyes shifted slightly toward the defiant one but he simply refused to meet his eye so Barker nodded, reluctantly. "All right! Saunders, mate…." Abbot punched his arm in a playful way.

Saunders looked around the room as if this were the last time he'd be seeing it and said: "Yeah, all right."

"Aces! That'll pay off, mates you'll see," Abbot said, enthusiastically.

"Bloody hell mate, it'd better," Saunders said, his voice fading in the noise of the Great Hall.

"Gits," Sirius muttered angrily and burst out of the broom closet. "We should just take them now. Stop any chance of them succeeding."

"Yeah, well, if we catch them red handed it'll get the teachers on our side," James said, stuffing his hands into his pocket. A large part of him agreed with Sirius. After all if they ended up in the hospital wing before they could make it to Hogsmeade they wouldn't have to worry about what would happen should they fail. However having the staff on their side for once would be a tremendous help.

"Yeah…. Man, I hope they get expelled," Sirius said, spitefully.

"Me too," James nodded then set to work again. "Let's hurry, I wanna tell Remus and Peter before breakfast."


	12. Operation: Borgin and Burkes; Stage Two: Hogsmeade

The Entrance Hall was bursting with energy. Every student from third year and up was in the Hall eagerly awaiting the arrival of the carriages. Even the teachers seemed a bit excited as they chatted in their corner.

Remus kept his sights on Abbot and his friends. James and Sirius were busy pretending to shoot spells at each other, preparing themselves for a duel they felt sure would take place. Peter watched them, his face lit with amusement. Eilidh was waiting with her friends since she wouldn't be in Hogsmeade with them. She was talking avidly with Mary Macdonald and Josie Archer as Lily waved someone over.

Remus's stomach dropped when he saw who it was. It was Snape. Jealousy seemed to be getting the better of James recently, so Remus fixated his gaze on Abbot, determined to not let his friends know who was coming their way.

"Ahhhhhh!" James let out a sudden, agonizing, panicked yell as he fell to his knees. Snape stood over him looking confused and annoyed. Sirius took one threatening step forward.

"What'd you do to him," Sirius accused angrily. They were starting to gain the attention of the surrounding students. Snape looked even more confused with Sirius's wand in his face.

"I didn't-"

"He touched me!" James cried, clutching the front of Sirius's robes. Sirius lowered his wand, a smirk playing on his lips. He apparently found this amusing. "I've got his diseases now! I can feel it! It's spreading! I'm breaking out in-in… IN GREASE!"

People around them either laughed or turned away with a mild expression of annoyance. Lily started pushing her way through the crowd toward them. Snape stood froze on the spot, speechless and mortified.

"Don't touch me, you'll spread it!" Sirius yelled, pushing James off feigning disgust.

"Sirius, you have to help me!" James cried. "What do I do?"

"Ask Evans!" Sirius said, pointing at Lily bobbing her way through the crowd. "She's immune." James turned and waddled on his knees toward her.

"Shut up, Black," Snape snarled, in a low threatening voice. Sirius merely smiled at him as if daring him to make good on his threat.

"Evans, help-"

"Jump off a bridge, Potter," Lily said, savagely. She took Snape's hand and pulled him away from the scene.

"That sounds fun. Sirius put that on our bucket list. You're welcome to join us, Evans!" James shouted after her, getting off his knees.

"What was that, Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked firmly as she came up behind them.

"Oh, nothing but a bit of fun, Professor," James smiled, not seeming at all innocent. Peter covered his laughter with a coughing fit. Sirius grinned crookedly, his arm resting on James's shoulder.

"I certainly hope it was that and nothing more," McGonagall said, severely.

"But of course," James grinned toothily. Professor McGonagall eyed all four of them then swept briskly away. James, Sirius, and Peter burst out laughing.

"That way the funniest thing I've seen in while, James," Peter gasped.

"You all are terrible," Remus said, firmly. The crowd around them began to shift and thin, most hurriedly headed toward the front doors. Remus allowed himself to be swept along, not knowing what else he had to say to his friends.

"Oh, come on Moonchild!" he heard Sirius shout after him.

"Yeah, moonbeam it was only a joke," James added.

"Lighten up, Moony," Peter said. He heard the distinct sound of James's cackle before he was swept out the door and down the steps.

He hurried along, too angry and a bit nervous to face his friends. He made sure to save a carriage directly behind the one Abbot chose and focused on controlling his emotions.

"What was that?" Eilidh demanded as Lily and the rest of them strode past with their noses in the air, looking determinedly in the opposite direction.

"I don't know. James was having a laugh I guess," Remus muttered.

Eilidh sighed, angrily. "You'd think he'd be a bit more sensitive to what Lily wants considering."

"Considering?" Remus said, offering a hand to help her into the carriage.

"He's got a crush on her doesn't he?" she answered. "I'm not riding with you. Lily thinks I'm going with my brother I'd like to keep it that way."

"How do you know that? That James has a crush on her?" he asked, taking a seat in the carriage.

"Please. James Potter is the most obvious person I've ever met." She rolled her eyes and stared into the sea of people rushing to get a carriage. When she spotted James through the crowd she tensed.

"Eilidh did you see? Snape walk by and James was all AGHH HE TOUCHED ME!" Peter said, mocking James's movements in the Hall.

"Yeah, I saw. Along with most of the school. You're a proper git you know that?" Eilidh said, venomously staring at James. Peter, finally sensing her mood, sobered up and clambered into the carriage beside Remus.

"Relax, Eilidh. It was a joke," Sirius said, passing her without a second glance apparently not at all worried about her anger.

"It was just a laugh," James added indignantly. Eilidh stood before him, eyes narrowed, hands on her hips. She reminded Remus of his mother when he was caught reading after bedtime and he had to force himself not to laugh.

"It wasn't just a laugh. You embarrassed Snape-"

"Good," James interrupted fiercely.

"And upset Lily. Which we're probably going to fight about this later because I'm friends with you, so I'm guilty by association," Eilidh said, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Well, if she says anything just send her my way. I'd be more than happy to talk to her for you," James winked and ruffled his hair.

"I'm sure you would," Eilidh snarled. She pushed James, although gently, out of the way and stomped off.

"Oy, where're you going?" James yelled.

"I am riding with my brother," Eilidh responded defiantly, her robes swinging around her as she turned on her heel.

"We've got things to discuss!" James shouted. Eilidh flipped him off and kept on marching. Sirius was laughing again. Peter was biting his lip to hide a smile. James climbed up into the carriage and took a seat next to the chuckling Sirius.

"She- she's just- she's so," James said, seeming to be at a loss for words.

"Stubborn. Crazy. Ridiculous," Sirius offered, still amused.

"Exactly," James nodded.

"I was thinking more along the lines of right," Remus added seriously. Sirius looked at him arching a brow. Peter looked at James and Sirius as if expecting a stronger reaction.

"If I didn't know any better, Moony, I'd say you had a little crush-"

"Oh, shove off Sirius!" Remus said, kicking him lightly.

"Oy! Why - " Sirius yelped from the sudden kick.

"Anyway. Moony." James interrupted, putting his feet up in the seat between Remus and Peter. "We've been thinking…."

A new plan was made. The signal, "strideo" was the same and they were only to use it if a dark object was in sight. They would follow Abbot through Hogsmeade as discreetly as possible. If they had to split up James and Sirius would cover Abbot, Peter and Eilidh would cover Saunders, and Remus was trusted enough to follow Barker alone. They exchanged quick tips on duelling and clever spells they found useful, seeming to hope that an actual brawl would take place. Neither James nor Sirius seemed concerned with the fact that their enemy was three years ahead of them.

"Remember whatever happens-" James said, upon reaching the start to Hogsmeade village.

"We're in this together," Peter finished, confidently.

"No, we keep that dark object out Abbot's hands," Sirius corrected.

"Yes. And we are in this together. We've all got each other's backs, even that stubborn, crazy, ridiculous woman," James said the last part loud enough so Eilidh could hear as she approached.

"You haven't seen crazy, Potter," Eilidh said, raising her eyebrows, hinting that humour had returned to her.

"Save it for Abbot," James said, smirking. He pulled Eilidh closer into their circle. As they followed Abbot at a distance he filled her in on the new plan.

Abbot stayed glued to his friends. They walked side by side, closer than what would be considered normal. They stopped into various stores along the main street of the village. They all took turns following them in as the rest waited at a short distance, to not raise suspicion. It became apparent that Abbot was only doing this to look innocent like it was just a regular Hogsmeade visit to him. It was a good plan and it would have worked if he and his cohorts weren't so nervous and fidgety. They were constantly looking over their shoulders as if scared of being followed.

James was worried about getting caught, so they split up and took shifts. James and Sirius would follow behind Abbot while Peter and Eilidh ran behind buildings and Remus casually strolled in front of them. When they passed Remus, Peter and Eilidh would dash out in front, Remus would fall behind, and James and Sirius would duck behind the buildings, and so on. It was harder to do as they approached the outskirts of the village and the buildings grew farther apart. Remus actually caught sight of James rolling from one building to the next like he was in a Bond movie and had to bite back a laugh.

Remus, Eilidh, and Peter stopped outside the post office so they'd fall behind Abbot. James and Sirius met them instead of dashing ahead because there was nowhere else to go. The rest of the street was a residential area. They watched as Abbot and his friends turned up a narrow side street that inclined. They continued following Abbot, this time with an even larger distance between them. Abbot continued on until they reached a small inn at the top of the hill.

A battered wooden sign hung from a rusty bracket over the door, with a picture of a wild boar upon it, it's head severed and leaked blood onto the white cloth around it. The sign creaked ominously as they approached. All five of them hesitated outside the door. It suddenly became clear that this was much more serious that harmless pranks on suspected Death Eaters.

"Hog's Head then," Remus said, slightly nervous. "Bit obvious of them, isn't it...?"

James led the way inside.

They usually spent their time in Hogsmeade surrounded by the warm, cleanliness of the Three Broomsticks. Hog's Head could not have been more different. The pub was comprised of one small, dingy, and very dirty room that smelled strongly of barn animals - particularly goats. The bay windows were so encrusted with grime that very little daylight could penetrate the room, which was instead lit by stubs of candles sitting on rough slabs of wood that somehow passed for a table. The floor seemed at first glance to be earthy, though as Remus stepped onto it he realised that there was stone beneath what seemed to be centuries of accumulated filth.

Remus remembered that Hagrid sometimes talked of coming to this bar when he helped Madam Pomfrey escort him to and from the castle on full moons. He wondered why Hagrid would ever want to come here. Everyone in the place didn't seem to want to be caught there at all. They were all hooded or masked with horrible transfiguration jobs. Two hooded figures sat at the bar, talking in whispers. In a shadowy corner beside the fireplace sat a witch with white hair that fell to her toes covering her face so he could only see a bright red nose protruding through it. Not far from where Abbot sat hunched over with his friends was a man with a straight nose that wanted to be hooked, letting Remus know that this was a kinder transfiguration error. Instinct told him to run from the place and to definitely not attract attention to himself.

All five of them seemed to naturally want to cling to the shadows. They travelled in a tight circle, standing closer together than what was normal but it made him feel safer so he didn't say anything. He fell into a kind of stupor, shuffling and tripping over his feet as they made their way toward a deserted table and kept their heads down. Their eyes shifted habitually toward Abbot and his friends, twiddling their thumbs or bouncing their knees, nervously watching the door as if expecting someone to arrive. The three of them talked casually to each other as they sipped on their drinks - alcoholic by its looks.

"I wanna know what they're saying," James whispered, irritably.

"It's just small talk by the looks of it," Sirius said.

Remus kept glancing around the room at the disguised figures. They were more than likely criminals and the five of them seemed to have attracted their attention.

"We should order something," Eilidh declared.

"You really wanna eat something here?" Sirius asked, casting a look of disgust at the floor and the table.

"We're attracting attention just sitting here staring at them," Eilidh hissed, leaning towards him. James and Sirius both cast a quick nervous glance about the room. Sirius nodded.

"Butterbeers all around then?" James asked, standing.

"I'll help," Remus said. He seemed to be in direct eye sight of the witch and did not like the feel of her gaze. Before they could reach the bar though the door creaked open, blowing in even more dirt and dried up leaves, and in walked a woman. Not an 18 or 19 year old witch fresh out of Hogwarts, but a woman easily mid-20s who walked right up to Abbot and kissed him.

Distracted as they were by the new comer, neither Remus nor James noticed the bar man who had sidled up to them from a back room.

"Need something?" the man said, rather irritably. Remus jumped in surprise.

"Er, no," James said, distractedly. He had barely flinched when the man announced himself, his eyes were too focused on Abbot's greeting.

"Butterbeers," Remus said, nudging James's arm with his elbow.

"Right, five of them, please and thanks," James said finally turning around.

"10 sickles."

James passed over the silver and the barman took it, looking suspiciously for a moment between James and Abbot's group then turned to deposit the money in an ancient wooden till and began preparing the drinks.

"We're being too obvious," Remus whispered as quietly as he could to James.

"Maybe he's just not used to having Hogwarts students here," James shrugged, casting glances over his shoulder at Abbot.

"Just stop looking at them," Remus said, out of the corner of his mouth just before the barman returned with their drinks.

They returned to their table to find Eilidh, Sirius, and Peter having a heated yet hushed discussion.

"You really think he's innocent!" Sirius hissed.

"No, he's still here! He's just not as bad as we originally thought," Eilidh responded.

"That'd be a good thing wouldn't it?" Peter asked.

"Mate, pick a side or shut up," Sirius said.

"What are we talking about?" James asked, setting down the butterbeers he held afloat in front of him.

"Eilidh thinks that Abbot doesn't actually want to be a Death Eater he's just being manipulated by his older girlfriend," Sirius explained, tilting his chair back on its hind legs and crossing his arms looking smug. He looked at James anticipating his response.

"No, he obviously does but she could be the one that put the idea in his head," Eilidh defended. "Think about it. She might be one of them and because Rosier is too young to really do any damage you-know-who's using her to get to Abbot so he can get inside Hogwarts now that Malfoy and Wilkes are gone."

"Abbot said this morning that he's wanting to get his attention so he can have a chance to become one, if you-know-who's in on this he wouldn't need to get his attention 'cause he'd already have it," James argued. Sirius pointed his finger at James while looking at Eilidh.

"See! Abbot may look innocent but that bloke's just as twisted as Malfoy!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Maybe she-" Remus started to say that it was still possible for the woman to be manipulating Abbot before being interrupted.

"Guys look," Eilidh whispered, nodding toward Abbot's table. The woman had taken out a small black cardboard box. Holding the parcel in her right hand, she gesticulated wildly with her left as if explaining something. "That has to be it."

"Wouldn't it be funny if that was just cuff links or something," Peter chuckled, completely changing the tone of the conversation.

"After what we heard this morning it's not bloody likely," James said, smiling.

"No but this still could be a setup," Peter said. James's smile disappeared as he looked at Sirius.

"You don't think-"

"There's no way. They're not that clever," Sirius said, almost defensively. After all, they were Slytherins for crying out loud!

"Cunning is in their house description," Eilidh said, weakly.

"We don't have time to discuss this," Remus hissed and glanced towards them. "They're moving."

Abbot, Barker, Saunders, and the woman all stood, tucked in their chairs, and made their way toward the door. Sirius shot up and whispered, "Accio parcel" but no parcel came flying out of any of their pockets and they continued to the door as if nothing had happened. James ran after them, his wand at the ready, and they all followed.

"OY!" James shouted. Abbot and his friends looked over their shoulders but continued walking. The woman however sped up when she heard James. "OY I'M TALKING TO YOU SHIT FOR BRAINS!"

At this Abbot, Saunders, and Barker all stopped and turned around. The woman continued on without a backwards glance.

"What the hell did you just say to me?" Abbot asked furiously.

"You heard him," Sirius said, taking his place beside James. "He said you had shit for brains."

"I'd watch your mouth if I were you. He's Head Boy," Saunders sneered.

"SIRIUS, he's Head Boy! Run! He'll put us in detention!" James said with faux fear lacing his voice.

"Make us write lines. Merlin, I don't think I could take it," Sirius smirked.

"You don't cool the attitude I will make you write lines," Abbot said, authoritatively. "I'm definitely taking points off of Gryffindor for your mouth."

"Why do you reckon Dumbledore made you Head Boy?" James asked, conversationally. Abbot didn't seem to know how to respond to this. "See, we've been talking it over and we reckon that he was hoping you'd give all the stupid kids hope."

"Cause if an idiot like you can make Head Boy then there's hope for everyone," Sirius laughed. Barker moved forward, his wand pointed directly at Sirius. James and Sirius jumped into a fighting stance, Remus, Peter, and Eilidh tensed behind them.

"Will, stop!" Abbot ordered. Barker halted at once, his wand still pointed at them. "I don't know what you all are up to but we can discuss it in detention. Monday evening."

"You really think you'll still be in school come Monday?" Remus asked, stepping forward.

"Last I checked, bringing in a cursed object gets you expelled," James said. Abbot laughed a short humorless laugh. He turned to Barker and nodded.

Barker raised his wand, brought it down, and in that one elegant movement Sirius was on the floor as if his knees had suddenly forgot how to work. Peter stepped up and blocked the next spell Barker had aimed at him. Saunders strode forward and shouted "Stupefy!" pointing his wand at Remus. Eilidh pulled him out of the way and blocked the spell with her ready wand before Remus even had a chance to register his movements. James chased after Abbot who was running like a bat out of hell down the hill.

"I've got him! Help James!" Remus shouted at Eilidh as he took his wand out and prepared to duel.

With the exception of a few friendly bouts, Remus had never been in a duel before. His father, upon receiving his Hogwarts letter, had taught him a few spell he thought would be useful should he ever have to defend himself against an adversary. So when Saunders raised his wand again, clearly about to disarm him, Remus thought back to his father's lessons and said quickly and clearly, "Everte Statum."

Saunders flew back several feet, his disarming charm shooting aimlessly in the air, and landed with a thud on the ground and didn't get up again. Remus looked over his shoulder, checking to see if Sirius and Peter still had the upper hand with Barker. He was struggling against thick ropes tied around his arms, wrists, and legs, protruding from Peter's wand who was smiling victoriously at Sirius.

"Nice one, mate," Sirius grinned.

James, Eilidh, and Abbot were still dueling at the bottom of the hill. Abbot's wand waved wildly and almost uncontrollably around as Eilidh and James shot a string of spells at him. They almost had him. Eilidh and James began to separate slowly and didn't stop until they were on opposite sides of Abbot. He turned to deflect a spell that Eilidh shot at him. James charged, hitting him in the middle and bringing him down. Pinning him with his knees, James reached for his pockets. Abbot raised his wand. Eilidh grabbed his arm and pulled it down before he got a chance to hex James. Abbot swung and hit her head, successfully knocking her off. Both James and Eilidh reacted. There was a brilliant flash of multicoloured light leaving Abbot moaning in pain with tentacles all over his face. The attack distracted Abbot long enough for James to reach into his pocket and pull out the black box but not enough to stop Abbot completely. While Abbot raised his wand to attack again, James and Eilidh were about ready to cause more damage.

Dumbledore strolled up to the scene, unnoticed by the three in combat. He raised his wand and disarmed all three of them. He spoke. James and Eilidh retreated back up the hill. With a wave of his wand the tentacles on Abbot's face vanished and he and Dumbledore followed James and Eilidh.

"What's he want?" Peter asked nervously. Eilidh shrugged. She was bleeding from her brow where Abbot had hit her but otherwise seemed fine. James, on the other hand, looked furious and tense though physically unharmed.

"You guys alright?" James asked. Remus, Peter, and Sirius nodded. Dumbledore waved his wand over Saunders bringing him back to consciousness and helped him to his feet.

"You can let him go now," Abbot sneered at Peter who still had Barker bound.

"Nah, I think he likes being tied up," Sirius said with an unnoticed wink, he then ruffled Barker's hair. Barker jerked away from him and glared. Abbot snarled but said nothing.

"Is anyone in need of immediate medical attention?" Dumbledore asked, holding Saunders steady by his arm.

"No, sir," Remus said, feeling a little guilty about injuring Saunders so badly.

"Good. Now, Mr Potter if you'll hand over that box and Mr Pettigrew please release Mr Barker, I think I can take it from here," Dumbledore said. Peter lowered his wand and the ropes that held Barker fell. James handed the box to Dumbledore, keeping still furious eyes on Abbot. "Thank you. Please go and enjoy the rest of the day."

"That's-" Eilidh started but broke off seeming to think the better of her protest.

"We will be talking about this later, Miss Nicnevin, I assure you," Dumbledore smiled then strode past them back into Hog's Head taking Saunders, Abbot, and Barker with him.

"Let me see your head," Sirius said, tightly.

"If you don't mind, I'll just wait till we get back to the castle so Madam Pomfrey can look at it," Eilidh said, stepping away from him.

"Don't be ridiculous. I had detention with her for a month I can take care of a minor injury," James argued.

"James is really good at healing spells," Sirius assured her, catching her by her arm and holding head to keep it still. He whipped away the blood with his thumb. "James what do you think."

James stepped up and squinted at the cut on Eilidh's brow that was barely visible now that the blood was gone.

"Right, it's too small for any spells I know but it looks like it might leave a scar so you should probably see Pomfrey when we get back," James told her.

"Thanks," Eilidh smiled, awkwardly.

"I can't believe he hit you," Sirius said, finally releasing her, his furrowed brow gave the only sign of emotion. His years of experience with Sirius told Remus that he was trying very hard to control himself.

"Oh stop! If it was any of you, neither of you would be fussing this much," Eilidh demanded. James looked like he wanted to argue but couldn't find the words.

"You're probably right," Sirius shrugged, not looking at all bothered by the statement.

"Thanks, mate," Peter muttered. Sirius smiled and pushed him playfully.

"Hey, thanks for having my back, back there," James smiled, nudging Eilidh with his shoulder.

"Don't mention it," she smiled back.

"Moony! The way you knocked Saunders out! AGH, you've gotta teach us that!" James said, excitedly.

"You saw that," Remus said, his face felt warmer than usual.

"He flew like five feet in the air! Everyone saw that" Peter grinned.

"That was pretty cool," Sirius said.

"Black, I never thought you'd be taken down so easily," James teased.

"Oy, he took me by surprise!" Sirius defended.

"I don't know, it looked kind of obvious to me," Eilidh shrugged.

"Pfft, I'm still an ace," Sirius scoffed.

"Yeah, you're still an ace," Eilidh laughed.


	13. Andromeda and Lily

An unpleasant tightness in your stomach, a dry throat, and a desperate desire to get out of the situation. Awkward. There was no other word for it.

It was awkward sitting with Eilidh and Persephone so obviously not getting along while Mary and Josie prattled on about dress robes as if they couldn't feel the tension between the two. It was awkward trying to hide from Andy while pretending that nothing was wrong for his friends' sake.

He didn't know why panic had risen in him when he walked into the Three Broomsticks and saw his cousin. His favourite cousin at one time. He hadn't seen Andy in years but there she was. Sitting at the bar, clutching a tiny bundle that was obviously the infant Narcissa had told them about. She had been furious as if the child's muddled blood had tainted them all.

"Where is Lily anyway?" James blurted out when the topic of conversation changed from Persephone's dress robes to Lily's shoes.

"She's out looking for Nick Graves," Josie answered casting a significant look to her friends. Eilidh groaned and Mary rolled her eyes. Remus choked on his drink.

"Nick Graves? Isn't that…?"Sirius trailed off realising the situation for what it was. Lily had been looking for Nick Graves, the bloke Remus had invented, hard enough to irritate her friends. James stared at Eilidh through wide eyes, looking terrified and guilty. Remus stared at the nervously twisting fingers in his lap. Sirius wasn't the only one who found the situation funny: Peter was holding back his laughter, his face red with the effort.

"What did you do?" Eilidh asked, exasperatedly.

"I… am going to fix it," James answered, stood, and dashed for the door.

"Do you want me to come?" Remus called after him, worry lacing his voice.

"No!"

Eilidh sighed and ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "I should probably make sure Lily doesn't rip his head off."

"If she sees that cut on your head she'll freak!" Mary placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her to her seat. "I'll go."

"I'll go with you!" Peter said quickly and in response to the questioning looks he got added: "In case James loses his temper or something."

Persephone stood so quickly her chair toppled over. She picked it up and strode out without a glance or word to the rest of them.

"I take it things between you and Persephone are still… weird?" Remus asked. Eilidh shrugged, pulling off indifference well if it weren't for the tightening of her jaw.

"What happened?" Sirius asked, genuinely concerned. Eilidh was usually one to wear her heart on her sleeve.

Eilidh looked as if she was searching for the right words, then after a somewhat pregnant pause, she answered, "She likes to hold grudges."

"She doesn't like to be forced to do things," Josie corrected, almost aggressively, defending her friend.

"I didn't force her to do anything!" She claimed, "And it's a good thing I got her to talk because if I hadn't there wouldn't have been anyone to stop Abbot today," Eilidh argued fiercely, her nostrils flaring and her eyes pricking with tears. Why is it that girls always cry when they're angry?

"So that's where you were today? Off fighting a war you have no business being in," Josie hissed, she tilted her head up, as if higher and bigger than everyone else.

"I stopped a bad thing from happening. What would you-"

"You should have gone to a teacher. We have rules for a reason," Josie stated, matter of factly sounding oddly like Regulus. If Sirius had a sickle for every time he'd been told that they had rules or traditions for a reason he'd be able to afford to live on his own.

"They wouldn't have been able to do anything!" Eilidh argued fiercely, her voice growing louder with every word, enunciating every syllable, sounding as if she'd made this argument a million times before. "We didn't have enough proof."

"Whatever. What you did was wrong and your excuses don't change that," Josie huffed and left just as quickly as Persephone had.

"Right," Eilidh breathed shakily, trying to regain control over herself. "Sorry you had to see that." She apologised, suddenly embarrassed.

"Sorry we caused that," Remus said, a frustrated line forming between his brow.

"You didn't," Eilidh smiled kindly at him, trying to eliminate Remus's frustration.

"Josie's always been a bit… stiff. I wouldn't let what she says get to you," Sirius advised, hoping that he sounded sympathetic and that none of his anger for Josie slipped through his voice. He simply couldn't believe how Josie had reacted. She had to know what Eilidh was fighting for. He never got to find out how she took it though because her response was cut off by someone calling his name.

He froze as a chill ran through him. Andy sounded exactly the same as she did four years ago. Remus and Eilidh turned toward the sound of her voice.

"Er, who's that?" Remus asked, running his eyes up and down the woman questionably.

"Andy," Sirius whispered, seeming at a loss for words.

Understanding flared in Remus's mind, "Ah," he nodded. "Well, I've got an appointment with Madam Pomfrey. Eilidh you are more than welcome to join me."

Remus moved quickly toward the door giving not so subtle looks to Eilidh. He probably thought he was being tactful but Sirius really didn't want to be alone right now. Before he could say as much Remus was out the door and Eilidh who had finally understood his silent message was beginning to follow.

"Eilidh," Sirius said, catching her hand before he could stop himself. He wanted to ask her to stay, sure, but what if she didn't want to stay? This was bound to be an awkward situation not only because he was reuniting with a long lost relative but also the tension between her family and his dated back centuries. The confliction caused his words to be caught in his throat and he mouthed trying to find an out.

"You want me to stay?" Eilidh asked with not a hint inconvenience in her voice.

"Er," Sirius began, still trying to find the right way to ask. Eilidh simply nodded and sat down giving his hand a light squeeze and watched as Andy took the last steps to approach their table.

"Sirius," she grinned. She looked tired yet somehow happier than Sirius had ever seen her.

"Andromeda," Sirius smiled back. Her grin faded slightly. She looked confused and slightly hurt.

"What happened to Andy?" she asked.

"Uh, nothing," Sirius shook his head feeling slightly foolish. He stood to greet her properly. "It's good to see you, Andy."

Andy pulled him closer to her and wrapped him in a tight embrace, her tiny bundle wrapped in a sling against her chest breathed steadily against him. "It's been too long," she whispered softly. Sirius nodded and hugged her tighter, careful not to hurt the bundle between them. There had always been a silent understanding between her and Sirius, he was glad that the years had not taken that. Sirius felt tears springing into his eyes and he pulled away quickly, begging the tears to somehow evaporate

"Here, sit down, get off your feet," he said, dragging out a chair for her. She smiled her thanks and eased her way in, holding her baby steady as she did. "This is my friend Eilidh."

"Nice to meet you, Andy," Eilidh smiled, extending a hand toward her.

"Pleasure's mine, Eilidh," Andy smirked, shaking her hand. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?" she asked, looking at Sirius with a humoured expression he found odd and unreadable.

"No," Eilidh and Sirius said together. She smiled holding on to that humorous expression.

"So did you buy a very lifelike doll or did you get yourself knocked up?" Sirius smirked, gesturing to the softly breathing baby.

"Ha ha, Sirius," Andy rolled her eyes and pulled back the fabric of the sling. Out popped a tiny little fist, its fingers spread when it hit the nape of Andy's neck revealing fingernails smaller than anything Sirius had ever seen. Andy smiled lovingly at the creature as she pulled the rest of it out. The baby stirred slightly at the movement then quickly fell back into a peaceful slumber. "Sirius, meet your cousin. Nymphadora," Andy cooed, brushing tiny wisps of blonde hair off of the child's forehead.

"She's tiny." Sirius simply could not get over how small she was. Everything from her button nose to her stubby curling toes was unbelievably small and fragile looking. He never imagined a human being could be that small.

"You wanna hold her?" Andy offered.

"I-uh." He did want to hold her but he was terrified of dropping her or hurting her with his rough, clumsy, inexperienced hands.

"It's okay, she's not as breakable as she looks," Andy soothed, holding Nymphadora up to his chest and bringing his arm under her. She felt heavier than Sirius was expecting and a lot steadier. Nymphadora stirred, her mouth opened into a wide O as she yawned revealing her toothless mouth. The corner of her lips twitched as if to smile as she let out an odd gurgling sound that only babies could make.

"She looks like Ted," Sirius laughed, truly seeing the resemblance.

"I know," Andy giggled.

"How old is she?" Sirius asked.

"Three months," Andy said.

Three months. This thing had been alive for three months and Sirius was only just meeting her. It made him angry that he was so cut out of Andy's life that he hadn't even met her child. He watched as her tiny fists rubbed her tired eyes. She hummed in satisfaction as she snuggled into his chest. He felt like his heart would burst. With his free hand, he lightly touched her little ball of a head, her hair caught between his fingers and he saw the strangest thing he had ever seen. The baby's hair, he initially thought was blonde, had a hint of a rosy pink to it.

"I-is that pink?" he asked, not really believing his eyes. Andy laughed, heartily.

"Yeah, she does that when she's happy. She's a metamorphmagus," Andy explained. "Her pregnancy was the weirdest thing I've ever experience, probably ever will."

"Merlin's pants!" Sirius exclaimed, then looked up apologetically at his cousin. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I don't think she can remember much right now anyway," Andy said. She watched Sirius holding her daughter thoughtfully for a moment. "Listen, Sirius, I came to Hogsmeade because I needed to talk to you about something so if you get a chance I'd really-"

"Eilidh's a friend. I trust her so I'd probably end up telling her what you said anyway," Sirius interrupted her, startled by her sudden change in tone. She now seemed burdened down with something.

"It's kind of a family thing," Andy responded, looking apologetically at Eilidh.

Eilidh looked at Sirius, asking if she was still needed. Sirius nodded. He had a dreadful feeling that Andy had terrible news and did not want to be alone to receive it. He wished he could send for James but he didn't see how so Eilidh would have to do.

"Andy, just tell me," Sirius said forcefully. He handed back the baby already feeling his hands starting to shake. Andy looked flustered for a moment but took a deep breath and calmed herself.

"Okay," she started. "I ran into Narcissa in Diagon Alley this summer. She told me about what you've been getting up to at Hogwarts and at home."

There was a pause in which Andy looked at him apprehensively.

"Okay," Sirius pressed, urging her to go on.

"I just….I'm proud of you for standing up for what you believe in. It's really brave of you, especially with everything that's going on." Andy paused again biting her lip. Sirius knew now that it wasn't news she was bringing. She was here to warn him, to tell him to shut up until it was 'safe.' The thing was, it was never safe so what was the point?

"But," Sirius demanded. He could feel a wall building between him and Andy, one that he had never thought would be there.

"But… you know what happened to me when they found out about Ted. They'll do the same to you if you keep going on the way you do. And I'm sorry but I honestly think you mum's a bit worse than mine." Andy said, in a rush, exactly what he knew she would say. He wondered why he hadn't expected it the minute he saw her. Sit down, shut up, and smile. The Black family tradition upheld by them all, even Andy.

"You want me to be seen and not heard. Another trophy my mother can parade around. It's too late for me. I failed at that the moment the sorting hat put me in Gryffindor." Sirius could play indifference very well. It was what he was raised to do. So he put on his apathetic mask and watch as Andy's face fell. It gave him a sick satisfaction to see it. As was the Black way. He realised this and, being somewhat disgusted with himself, he let his bruised feelings show in his heavy eyes and his frowning mouth. He took hold of Andy's free hand and said in a tone much gentler than before: "Thank you for caring. But I can't. This war is bigger than all of us and I couldn't live with myself if I just sat back and watched it all happen."

"Then get out, Sirius," Andy whispered, her eyes pleading. "Get out before it's too late."

"I'm working on it," Sirius assured her. Andy's eyes brimmed with tears as she cupped his jaw.

"All right," she said. She whipped her face and cleared her throat while she stood tall and confident and happy just as she was when Sirius first saw her. "I'm off. It was really nice to meet you Eilidh. And Sirius… would you mind if I wrote you every now and then?"

"Yeah, of course, I'd love to hear from you," Sirius answered, shocked that she felt like she had to ask though it would explain why he hadn't heard from her in four years.

"Okay, I would have before I just…."

"Andy, we're family. Write whenever you like," Sirius said.

"I will. But only while you're in school. I don't want to get you in trouble," she promised.

"I don't care-"

"I do," she interrupted firmly. Sirius didn't know what to say so he nodded. "Anyway, it was nice to meet you. I'll let you two get back to your, er…. Have a nice school year." Andy smiled one last time at the pair of them, adjusted her hold on Nymphadora, and walked out of the place with her head held high. Sirius was happy to see that even though she had been disowned she hadn't lost her pride in herself. He was also very happy that James hadn't been there. Merlin knows what conclusions he would have jumped to.

"That was intense," Eilidh proclaimed. Sirius looked at her. Her arm was slung over the back of her chair, her expression and body relaxed, but her eyes were lit with concern and almost fear. Shit.

"Listen, this has to stay between us," Sirius implored.

"Why, you don't want your friends to know that your cousin is scared shitless for you?" Eilidh snapped. Her mask of calm falling. She looked angrier than Sirius had ever seen her.

"She overreacts," Sirius lied.

"Yeah, okay," Eilidh scoffed.

"Eilidh!"

"This stays between us, it's your life. But Sirius," She caught his eye and held it for a moment making sure she had his attention. "You have people who are more than willing to help you. Don't take that for granted."

**********************************************Meanwhile in the James-iverse*************************************************************

Hogsmeade was way too crowded to be looking for someone. Especially, someone he knew next to nothing about. James hadn't realised how much he didn't know about Lily until he had to think about where she'd be.

What were her interests? She didn't like pranks so she wouldn't be in Zonko's. She liked butterbeer - she had to like butterbeer. Everyone liked butterbeer. Yet she wasn't in the Three Broomsticks. Did she actually like potions or was she just good at it? Reading. She liked reading. James always saw her late at night in the common room, during boring moments in class (the entirety of History of Magic,) or under a tree on sunny days with her nose in a book reading with an incredible amount of concentration.

So he went to Tomes and Scrolls - a new and used bookshop. Lily wasn't there but that's where Mary and Peter caught up with him.

"She's not shopping, she's looking for someone. Where would you go to look for someone?" Mary coaxed, kindly.

James's initial thought was the Three Broomsticks again. That's where he'd go to look for someone. Students ran in and out of there all day either to warm up or grab a quick bite to eat. He had already established that she wasn't there so James had to think. Where would Lily go to find someone she didn't know? What did Lily Evans think about the people she went to school with?

She believed that they were mostly innocent. That everyone naturally had her sweet disposition. Honeydukes. A candy shop to represent sweet childhood innocence.

Sure enough there she was leaning against the checkout counter, a cherry lollipop twirling between her lips, her eyes mulling over the crowd like she was hoping Nick Graves would jump out and announce himself. Her eyes spotted James and rested there for a moment making his heart sputter then flicked quickly away, pretending like she hadn't seen him.

"Lily!" Mary called over the sea of their overly excited peers. She grabbed James's hand pulled him along as she pushed her way through the crowd. Lily spotted Mary, smiled, and lurched forward meeting Mary, James, and Peter halfway.

"Hey, Mar," Lily greeted, ignoring James and Peter's presence. "Where's Seph and Josie?"

"Seph left. Josie's in the pub. And James needs to tell you something. It seemed important or else I wouldn't have brought him," Mary said apologetically, bringing Lily's attention to him. She took a deep breath, drawing herself up to full height.

"What is it, Potter?" Her voice became tight as if trying to control herself.

"Nice to see you too, Evans," James smirked. Eilidh had already told him that she was upset with him. What he needed was a reaction so he teased her. He heard her suck in a long breath, her lips tightened, her eyes narrowed. His hands flew to his hair out of both nerves and excitement. He could tell, even though she was trying so hard to control herself, that if he played this right moments from now her eyes would spark with a fiery passion. Sure it was because she was furious with him but that was part of the rush.

"Don't you think your hair's messy enough?" Lily quipped. James pulled his hand slowly out of his hair and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Glad you like it," he grinned and winked at her.

"I didn't say that," Lily said, looking away from him. That was different she usually stared right back. "I thought you said he had something important to say?" she asked Mary as if it were her fault he was toying with her.

"Don't blame Mary, she's only here so you wouldn't bite Eilidh's head off." James actually bit his tongue. He didn't mean to mention Eilidh at all and hoped he didn't just make things worse for her. Nevertheless, it brought her attention back to him.

"Eilidh's with you?" Lily questioned. James made a show of looking around him.

"I don't see her," he shrugged. Lily squinted her eyes at him, groaned, and started to walk away. James stepped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. She looked up at him, jaw tight, nostrils flared.

"Do you mind if we talk privately?" James asked, lightly as if he wasn't at all worried he had just ruined Eilidh's friendship with Lily.

"I do mind actually because I've got to find my friend that you've somehow turned into a pompous butt waffle," Lily fumed, marching around him.

"Wow, wonder how I did that?" James laughed chasing after her.

"Your personality is infectious," Lily snarled.

"So I'm a pompous butt waffle too, huh?" James laughed again. Lily didn't respond she just kept marching forward with her jaw set and her hands clenched into tight little fists at her side. James caught her by her elbow. She jerked away almost hitting a third year behind her. It was only now that he saw the tears she was fighting back. "Sorry," he apologised, sheepishly. "I'll explain about Eilidh, I just want to talk to you privately."

"I know what's going on with you and Eilidh," she hissed, her eyebrows raised daring him to lie to her.

"Just let me explain," James begged. Lily studied him. He didn't know what she was looking for but he tried to look as sincere as he possibly could.

"Fine," Lily said and marched off to a far corner. She led him to the section of odd candy like blood-flavored lollipops and cockroach clusters where Peter stood snarling at the sugared rat tails.

"Pete, bugger off," James ordered. Peter jumped, then grinned when he saw who had approached them.

"You sure you don't want to me to stay and make sure you don't say anything to muck this up?" he teased.

"Oh, go flirt with Mary," James said. Peter's face flushed leaving James to wonder if he was actually crushing on Mary until Lily put all thought of Peter or even breathing out of his mind by clutching his wrist and pulling him quickly into the back room.

"Why, Evans! I'm surprised at you. We could get in trouble for this," James taunted, placing a hand on his chest and feigned surprise.

"Shut up, Potter, and talk," Lily ordered, her eyes still slightly narrowed.

"That doesn't-"

"I know, just get to the point," Lily snapped.

"All right. Should we start with Eilidh first?" James asked, suddenly nervous about having to confess to her.

"I don't care but for the love of God just start!" Lily growled.

"Okay, erm, Eilidh is constantly trying to stop me from doing... whatever - it's really annoying but it's mostly because she knows that it will upset you. And it's really not fair that you're mad at her for being friends with me when your friends with Sni-Snape. I mean the last person you should be mad at is Eilidh 'cause she's… she really cares about you," James told her. Lily finally seemed to relax. "Like a lot. Like she loves you, I'd say. I don't know."

"She actually tries to stop you?" Lily asked, smiling a little.

"Yeah. I mean she's never hexed me like you have but I think it's 'cause she likes me better -" James was about to say, Snape, which was entirely true but given the circumstance he deemed it inappropriate. "Than you."

Lily scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever helps you feel better about yourself." She scratched her forehead looking thoughtfully at his shoes. James waited for her to be ready for him to continue, his throat getting tighter with every second he had to wait. "Alright, what was so important that you had to pester Mary into bringing you to me?"

"Well, um… see…. Ah jeez." James's hand found his hair again. He kicked the air spinning himself around. It was hard for him to face her right now. "You're gonna get mad," James told the crate in front of him labelled HONEYDUKES in block letters.

"Is anyone hurt?" Lily asked after a moment, her voice sounding tight again.

"I might be at the end of this," James shrugged, attempting to joke.

"I promise I won't jinx you," Lily swore. James turned around. His father always said that if he ever had to apologise he should do it right and that included looking someone in the eye.

"Hexes and curses are okay?" He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm not taking them off the table," she smiled back at him. An actual genuine smile and he was about to ruin it all. James savoured the moment where the ghost of her smile still played on her lips before continuing.

"Okay." He took a deep breath and looked her square in the eye. "I was told by an anonymous source that Nick Graves was going to ask you to the stupid ball thing. Only after I told you did the anonymous source tell me that he made Nick Graves up. Like he's not real. I didn't tell you before now because I didn't think you'd care enough to look for him and it wasn't until Mary told me today-"

"Hang on," Lily interrupted. She didn't look hurt or angry or even embarrassed, just confused. "Nick Graves is made up? He's completely fictional?"

"Yyyup." James stuffed his hands deep into his pockets and leant slightly away from her.

"It was Black wasn't it?" Lily accused.

"No! I would have known it was a joke if it had been Sirius. He never gives a shit about what anybody says so he never pays attention to gossip," James defended, instantly.

"Who else would do that? Peter?" Lily questioned. She didn't seem angry with him at all.

"No. It- it doesn't matter who did it. They didn't mean for you to be involved at all," James argued, getting frustrated.

"Okay," Lily said, startled by his sudden change in tone.

"The point is that I'm sorry for sending you on a wild goose chase. And my source is also very sorry," James added hoping that would stop her from grilling his friends.

"Thank you," she said, looking shocked.

"What?" he asked. He wasn't expecting shock from her. Not at this point.

"It's just- you never apologise," Lily admitted, cautiously. "Like who are you and what have you done with James Potter?"

He didn't feel guilty about this. The only other thing he could apologise to Lily for was Snape and he wasn't at all sorry about that.

"You don't really know me, Evans," James said, having to physically stop himself from touching his hair again.

"Guess that's true," Lily conceded with a shrug. She kicked out her foot, the tip of her ballet slipper touched the crate now behind him. Was she nervous? Hope fluttered through him.

"You could get to know me," James flirted.

"James."

"I'll buy you a butterbeer and we can talk. Or we can go to Madam Puddifoot's," James offered in a rush.

"Potter please!" Lily begged, successfully shutting James up. "Don't ruin this," she whispered.

James felt a pang in his chest that was all too familiar.

"Yeah, okay," James answered coldly. Lily opened her mouth to say something but James didn't think he could take her sympathetic excuses. "We should get out of here before we get caught."

He turned on his heel, his robes whipping around him, and strode for the door. He was careful to not make eye contact with anyone as he moved around the room in search of Peter. He spotted him with Mary, reading the large poster on the wall about where Honeydukes gets their cocoa beans for their famous chocolate.

"Pettigrew let's go," James ordered, not waiting to see if he followed.

"What on earth did you do to him?" he heard Mary mutter.

"I have no idea," Lily said.

James gritted his teeth and clenched his fist as he walked out the door and down the street with Peter running to keep up with him.

"What happened?" Peter asked.

"Nothing," James snapped.

"Where are we going?" Peter asked as they passed the Three Broomsticks.

"I'm going back. You can stay if you want," James said, still cold. He wasn't upset with Peter. He wasn't even upset with Lily. That's the problem. What was he supposed to do when he was upset and there was no one to blame?


	14. Obstination

James had offered to stay longer to help Marlene train. Frank had run into Alice on his way back to the castle. Gabe Pevensie had detention. Cresswell had some Captain duties to attend to. Sirius wouldn't be caught dead with Shacklebolt (only because he had got the Beater position he had wanted but he'd never admit that even to himself.) So it was one of the rare occasions when Sirius was alone, strolling back to Gryffindor Tower. He didn't mind it at all. It gave him time to simply breathe and not think for a few moments. That was before he ran into him. The Hufflepuff who was the first to ever confront Sirius about a rumour.

There were a lot of rumours circulating around Hogwarts about Sirius. It rarely bothered him. Most of the time he found it humorous. On rare occasions, when he heard whispers about himself practising dark magic, it did bother him. No one had ever had the guts to say it to his face though.

It had been a while since he's heard anything about himself. He thought that his peers now knew him well enough to know that he was different than what society had come to expect from a Black. He wasn't a muggle hating wizard obsessed with the dark arts. He was the exact opposite and proud to be so.

Sirius first saw him at a distance sitting on a bench with two other blokes, all guffawing with laughter as they passed around a book. He didn't think anything of it. He was just passing a stranger sitting in a public place.

"Oy, Black," the Hufflepuff called as Sirius passed. Sirius stopped, not knowing what he expected but also not feeling defensive. His friends all hushed. One of them nudged him as if to tell him to be quiet while the other smiled at his shoes. "I heard you're dating that wolf girl."

"Who?" Sirius questioned, genuinely confused. He could never understand why people were so obsessed with who was dating who.

"That Nicnevin girl. A friend of mine said she saw you two in the Three Broomsticks yesterday," he answered, holding back a grin.

"Oh, no we're just fr-"

"I mean it makes sense, doesn't it? For a dark wizard to have a hard on for the darkest half-breed there is," he sneered and his friends burst out laughing.

Sirius wasn't sure what to do just that he needed to act. There were so many wrongs that needed correcting. Eilidh wasn't a werewolf. Sirius wasn't a dark wizard. They certainly weren't dating. It sickened him that the Hufflepuff had called werewolves dark. Remus wasn't dark.

His jaw tightened, locking into place. He knew he'd never be heard over their obnoxious laughter and he had left his wand in his dormitory before heading off to the Quidditch field. His hand started to tremble and sweat. He needed to make contact with something. A good punch in the face would likely scare the crap out of the idiot. He curled his trembling fingers into fists, his muscles tensed ready to make contact, he didn't even have to think about it. He raised his fist needing to hear that satisfying smack.

An annoying, high pitched meow froze him. He looked over his shoulder and spotted Mrs Norris's lamp like eyes peering from around the corner, goading him on. Filch would love to have an opportunity to punish Sirius. So instead, he snatched the book out of his hands, finally silencing their laughter, and threw it across the corridor its pages flying out like leaves in a harsh wind.

"You git! That's a library book!" The Hufflepuff yelled, standing a full head taller than Sirius. He didn't care though. He still wanted to punch him, to see his blood spilling from his nose, but he could see Mrs Norris's tail swaying patiently out of the corner of his eye. So he strode away, his anger increased with every step he took as he mulled over the scene.

Sirius stalked into the common room, his fists clenched and face hot. He spotted Remus sitting around the fire with Eilidh and Lily playing gobstones. Lily and Eilidh laughed as a gobstone shot a nasty smelling goo into his face.

Sirius marched over wondering how any of this happened. They were friends. Honest to goodness friends. Friends who got into loud arguments about The Unforgivable Curses in defence, who were forced into each other's corners in Muggle Studies for being the only Gryffindors to take the class. Friends who were seen alone together talking over butterbeers in the Three Broomsticks.

"Where's Peter?" he asked Remus, throwing himself on the floor next to him, trying to keep his anger out of his voice and apparently failing.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked automatically. He dropped the large stone in his hand giving Sirius his full attention. Lily looked from Eilidh to Remus to Sirius and back again, apparently not knowing what to do. Eilidh watched him with a neutral expression. He was slightly annoyed with the lot of them. If he had wanted to talk about it he would have said something, not ask where Peter was.

"Nothing," he said shortly, bringing his legs to his chest. He didn't know why but he couldn't bring himself to tell Eilidh what they were saying about her nor Remus about the insult to his kind. People believing that he was a dark wizard was nothing new and not worth telling, it just had never been so in his face before.

"Did practice go okay?" Remus asked, rolling the stone between his hands. Of course, Remus was digging. Why would Remus ever just leave him alone? That was something… a good friend wouldn't do.

"Yup," Sirius answered. His heart clenched at Remus's kindness but only made the Hufflepuff's words that much worse. He still found he couldn't meet his eye so he traced the seam of his trousers instead.

"Where's James?" Remus asked, half rising in alarm.

"Still on the Quidditch field," Sirius answered quickly. "He's helping McKinnon train. And before you ask: No we didn't fight."

"Okay… I don't know what else it could-"

"Because nothing. Happened," Sirius said forcefully, finally looking back at him. Remus slightly recoiled, shocked at his tone. "Just go back to your game," he said softly and curled into a tighter ball, resting his chin on his knees. He did not mean to lash out at him but he just kept digging.

"Sirius," Lily said, gently, looking concerned yet cautious, her fingers picking at the fabric of the carpet. "Do you want me to go so you can talk?"

Sirius's jaw tightened. He'd have to tell them something. He had made too much of a scene when he came in.

"No. It's nothing really. They're just… people are saying that we're dating," Sirius answered, careful not to meet anyone's gaze. A lump had risen in his throat. It was the basic gist of the rumour and it had bothered him a little so it wasn't exactly a lie.

"That you and me?" Lily asked pointing a finger at herself and Sirius, looking utterly confused.

"No. Eilidh and I," Sirius corrected, staring at his shoelaces as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

"So?" Eilidh blinked not understanding why this would upset him so much. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't. He'd be annoyed at most and he'd probably just laugh it off.

"So, we're not," Sirius said void of emotion. He shrugged, keeping a tight hold on his folded legs.

"So why do you care if they think we are? Why does it matter?" she challenged. She made a good point and he didn't know how to argue it without revealing more of the truth.

"Why doesn't it bother you?" he deflected, a method that worked in most situation. Eilidh gazed at him. For a moment he thought she had caught onto him but then she shrugged and returned to her gaming position.

"We just have to be careful not to be seen alone together anymore," she stated, her voice sounding colder than what he had come to know. He had somehow unintentionally hurt her feelings that much was obvious.

"What about Muggle Studies?" he asked, trying to let her know that that's not what he wanted. She shrugged again and fidgeted with the different coloured stones in front of her.

"We'll make new friends I guess," she mumbled. He finally released his legs and let them fall.

"Leave me alone in that class and I'll consider you to be a horrible person," he declared, folding his legs under him. She still didn't look up at him so he reached forward and pulled the stones away from her.

"Alright! But I don't see how that will solve your problem!" she yelled.

"Why are you mad at me? I'm not the one-"

"I'm not mad," she snarled, obviously lying. He didn't get a chance to press the issue because James burst through the portrait hole.

"Good Morning you pompous butt waffles!" he grinned, striding toward them covered in sweat, still in his Quidditch robes, and his hair messier than ever. Lily hid her face in her hands hiding a blush though her shoulders shook with laughter.

"What's a butt waffle?" Eilidh questioned, looking like it was the strangest thing she'd ever heard.

"I don't know. Ask Evans," James shrugged. Eilidh looked at Lily but seeing that her face was still covered didn't ask.

"James, you smell like Quidditch," Remus said, his face scrunched up in disgust.

"Thank you, Remus," he smirked, clutching his heart. Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius and Eilidh laughed. "Listen, mates. Where's Peter?"

"He's up in the dorm room catching up on sleep," Remus answered, making a show of holding his nose.

"It's almost noon!" James huffed, throwing his arms in the air.

"It's only 8 o'clock. Let him sleep. It's the least you can do after making him get up every day at the crack of dawn," Remus said, his voice sounding nasally from his still pinched nostrils.

"I can't Dumbledore's called us to his office," James told them, making his way toward the dormitory steps.

"Oy, mate!" Sirius called. James stopped and turned to face him. "Grab my wand? I left it on my nightstand."

"And take a shower!" Remus added.

James chuckled shaking his head and he turned to leave again.

"Hey Potter," Lily called, her voice sounding cautious. James stopped and looked over his shoulder, not looking elated like Sirius had expected, but guarded.

"Yes, Evans," James said, his tone matching his expression. Lily swallowed and bit her lip.

"Did you have a good practice?" she asked kindly like she was talking to an injured child.

"Yes Evans," James repeated.

"Good. Think you'll win the next match?" she continued conversationally. James looked confused and cast a look to Sirius he couldn't quite understand. He looked irritated.

"With me on the team we'll never lose," he answered then quickly moved up the steps toward the dormitory.

Sirius, Remus, and Eilidh all stared at Lily wanting answers. Lily kept her expression blank as she picked at the skin around her thumb. Seeing Lily Evans and James Potter not fighting, not laughing, but having a casual conversation about Quidditch. Lily and James were never casual. It just never happened. It wasn't in his nature to pry but it was too weird. He was saved from having to ask though when Lily's cracking voice finally spoke up.

"Did he uh… did James say anything about me after Hogsmeade?"

"What?" Eilidh looked as if she couldn't believe her ears. Indeed he could hardly believe it himself.

"James and I… Potter and I had a conversation in Honeydukes and I think I might have hurt his feelings," Lily admitted, holding her hands very still on her knees and looking determinedly at them as if daring them to say that she might actually care about James Potter.

"He was asleep when I came back," Sirius told her deciding it would be best not to tease her especially if her feelings were just developing. He looked at Remus.

"He didn't say anything about you," Remus answered. "He talked about Quidditch practice and a pr - Halloween. He did seem quiet though. And I think Peter actually mentioned him being angry-"

"We'll talk to him. See what happened and try to smooth things over," Sirius interrupted him after seeing the panicked look on Lily's face.

"Um… it's okay you don't have to," Lily said, her hands fluttering everywhere, tucking her hair behind her ear, scratching her nose, adjusting her skirt. "I just don't like hurting people's feelings. But maybe it's for the best. I mean we can't get along. We've tried being friends and it just…." she trailed off her eyes catching an odd distant look. She sucked in a breath, shook her head, and stood. "I'm sorry. Dumbledore's waiting for you, you should probably get going."

Eilidh jumped to her feet and took Lily's hand.

"Lil, I can stay a while if you wanna talk," Eilidh offered.

"No, no. I'm fine I've just got homework to catch up on," Lily smiled tightly and squeezed Eilidh's hand before letting go. "Good luck with those rumours Sirius," she grinned over her shoulder and climbed up to her dormitory.

"Those two." Remus shook his head, staring at the place Lily had left them, a smiling slightly.

"They're ridiculous" Eilidh nodded in agreement and started cleaning up the remnants of their game.

"Lily just needs to admit her feelings," Sirius said.

"And James just needs to get his head out of his arse long enough for her to realise her feelings," Eilidh bit back.

"Okay, are you mad at me or are you mad at James? It's hard to keep up sometimes," Sirius flared. He was tired of her temper. It seemed like they couldn't have a conversation without her getting mad about something.

"I'm not-"

"Liar," Sirius accused.

"Okay, I'm mad! I'm mad because I don't understand what is so repulsive about me, that you would get so upset about people assuming that we're dating! I'm mad that James doesn't see that everything he does to Snape actually hurts Lily! And I'm mad because you are the most frustrating person I've ever met!" Eilidh yelled her face contorted with rage, moving toward him slowly so that she was in his face by the end of it. Remus sighed and sank into a chair. He started organising the gobstones by colours in their case.

"If I found you repulsive I don't think we'd be friends," Sirius said calmly, looking her right in the eyes. She was the most ridiculous person he'd ever met but knowing her temper well it was not a good time to point that out.

"Then why are we friends! Because for the life of me I can't think of another reason you'd be so upset." Eilidh's voice lowered dangerously. Sirius searched his mind trying to find a way he could tell her without hurting Remus.

"They think the only reason why we'd be together is that we're both dark," Sirius answered, his voice a measured calm though his head began to pulse as he said it out loud. Eilidh stepped back, her face relaxed, her eyes searching. "Besides its none of their business who I'm dating."

"Girls are always going around claiming to be dating you, that rumour shouldn't surprise you," Eilidh said quietly, in almost a whisper, and shrugged.

"So you started it," Sirius accused, only half joking. Eilidh looked at him with large, daunting eyes. He thought she was going to start yelling again so he added in a rush: "Does it really surprise you that they think we're dark?"

"No," she answered spitefully. "And I didn't start it and feck you for thinking so."

"Yeah, all right," Sirius shrugged. He was sorry but saying it would be admitting he was wrong.

"He means that as an apology," Remus added, not looking up from his work on the gobstones. Eilidh looked at him questioningly. Sirius gave a half smile indicating that what Remus said was true.

"As I said," Eilidh tutted. "Most frustrating person I've ever met." She moved around the back of the couch to sit next to Remus. Sirius stood unable to move. He wasn't sure what had just happened. Was he forgiven? Was she actually not going to talk to him in muggle studies anymore?

"Eilidh was that you screaming?" James called as he entered the common room, obviously having taken Remus's advice about the shower. Peter came behind him, rubbing his eyes and looking like he just received the rudest awakening. Knowing James, that was probably exactly what happened. Eilidh looked at Sirius. They seemed to have an understanding that James shouldn't know about this rumour - given how protective he was.

"I'd just been called a butt waffle. I needed to defend my honour," Eilidh answered, taking the case Remus had finished with and put it back in its place on the mantle above the fireplace.

James handed Sirius's wand to him looking at each of his friends.

"Sure that's the only thing that happened?" James questioned. Remus cleared his throat and glanced at the pair of them. Sirius knew he wouldn't say anything, that's just not how he was.

"Lily asked about you," Remus said, sounding bored and uninterested but he was watching James out of the corner of his eye. Peter froze in the middle of a yawn and watched for James's reaction. James stuffed his hands into his pockets, scuffed his foot against the floor, and stared into the fire.

"Oh?" he said mildly.

"Yeah, she was wondering if she upset you yesterday when you talked," Remus answered, still watching James. James only hummed in response. "So what happened?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary." James cleared his throat and strode for the portrait hole. "We'd better get going, Dumbledore's waiting for us."

Peter, Remus, and Sirius all exchanged looks of concern before following him out the portrait hole and through the corridors toward Dumbledore's gargoyle-guarded office.

"Jellied Slugs," James muttered to the gargoyle and it moved aside, revealing the spiral staircase that led up to their Headmasters office. James knocked on the wooden door three times and a muffled "come in" sounded.

Dumbledore held up a hand signalling them to wait. He was sitting behind his desk writing a letter, the feather of his quill stirring quickly in the air. He finished with a flourish and looked up at them, greeting them with a smile before beckoned them closer.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully. "Please sit down."

Each of them muttered "good morning, Professor" as they took a seat in the five comfy armchairs placed in front of his desk. Dumbledore waved his wand, conjuring tea and biscuits for each of them.

"Your Hogsmeade weekend was quite eventful I take it?" Dumbledore started as he poured tea into each of their cups.

"I thought it was a bit boring actually," James joked.

"Indeed it was a bit dull," Sirius added. Both of them were completely at ease.

Remus sent them disapproving looks. Peter looked at them in awe but then fearfully watched for Dumbledore's reaction. Eilidh nervously twisted her pinky between her forefinger and thumb as she sat with her back rigidly straight in her chair staring directly at Dumbledore with an expression of forced calm.

"How was your cousin Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, his twinkling gaze losing a bit of the usual light-heartedness. Sirius's mouth fell open. This caught him completely off guard so he had no witty return. James looked at Sirius questioningly. Sirius hadn't yet told him about his run in with Andy.

"Uh, she's fine. Got herself one of those screaming monsters, what are they called again?" Sirius answered after he composed himself.

"Banshees?" James offered, with a smirk.

"Babies," Eilidh corrected, barely holding back the urge to roll her eyes.

James gave Sirius a significant look that made no sense to anyone else in the room. Sirius had told him about Andy's baby at the beginning of the year, he was merely asking for confirmation that this was who was being referred to. Sirius nodded, answering his silent question.

"It couldn't have been too dull if you were battling screaming monsters," Dumbledore returned, the twinkle in his eye at full blast. Sirius sat straighter in his chair, a rebellious look lighting his eye. "Please pass on my congratulation to Andromeda."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to receive it," Remus answered when Sirius made no reply.

He was in a staring contest with Dumbledore. The Headmaster looked completely amused by this while his friends around him shifted uneasily. Without breaking eye contact Dumbledore continued.

"I need to speak with you about your hand in the events involving Phineas Abbot, William Barker, and Herbert Saunders."

James snorted and tried to cover his laughter with a cough. Sirius smirked still holding eye contact with Dumbledore. Remus rolled his eyes and allowed his head to fall into his hand. Eilidh sat rigidly still, sending scathing looks to James out of the corner of her eye. Peter started twisting his fingers and gnawing on his lip.

"Excuse me, Professor. I think I might be catching a cold," James said, wiping under his nose for emphasis.

"Madam Pomfrey is an excellent nurse James," Sirius said, still smirking and still staring at the Headmaster, "I'm sure she can give you a poti-"

"Professor," Remus said loudly over Sirius. "We weren't involved with Abbot in any way. We were only there because we heard he might be trying to smuggle something into Hogwarts that was potentially dangerous. We were trying to stop him, not help him. Though admittedly things did get out of hand."

Dumbledore didn't look at Remus while he spoke as he usually would. Instead, he stared at Sirius, his eye boring into him. His look wasn't exactly cold but it was intimidating. It wasn't something Sirius was used to. He did this with his father on multiple occasion and it never left him feeling… submissive. The usual rebellious flame that burned inside Sirius wasn't exactly extinguished, just calmer. James seemed to be catching the effects of Dumbledore's gaze as well because for once there was not a hint of a smirk on his lips. Seeming satisfied with this response Dumbledore turned to Remus, a pleasant expression on his face.

"I did not think for a moment that you were trying to assist Abbot and his friends, that would have been a tremendous misinterpretation of the scene I stumbled upon. What I need to talk to you about, is why you felt the need to take care of this situation yourselves instead of turning to your professors," he told him, his voice so soothing that even Peter seemed to relax.

"We felt we didn't have enough proof," Eilidh spoke, her voice had an odd diplomatic tone to it that Sirius had never heard from her before. She was usually all bite first, discuss later.

"I fairly good reason. However I think that whatever proof you had to convince yourselves to take action would have been suffice enough to convince at least one of your professors to open an investigation," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair and pressing his fingertips together. He gazed at the five of them as they looked at each other trying to find a certifiable excuse. "I don't blame any of you of course," Dumbledore said quickly before Remus could speak again, "but I do think we need to open communications and create a bond of trust between you and your professors."

The five of them fell silent, the only thing that could be heard in the office was Fawkes's ruffling feathers. They simply did not know how to respond. Opening communications and creating a bond of trust with their professors sounded awful, boring, awkward, and nightmarish. Dumbledore poured milk into his tea and stirred, the teaspoon scraping against the porcelain added to the ambience of the feathers. He sipped and watched them over his cup, waiting for their dumbfounded expressions to pass. James was the first to speak.

He licked his lips, adjusted his position, and asked, "how would you have us do that, Professor?"

Dumbledore took a deep breath, leaning towards them, and answered promptly: "As I'm sure you know, Professor Slughorn has volunteered to plan and organise the Alum Ball." At this Sirius groaned loudly. He had a very good idea where Dumbledore was going with this. Dumbledore continued on as if nothing happened. "Most of the Professors and many of your peers have been enthusiastically assisting Professor Slughorn in doing so."

"And you want us to enthusiastically assist," Sirius said, bitterly.

"I do expect you to assist, yes, your attitude about the situation depends solely on you," Dumbledore responded.

"And if we don't want-" Sirius began, his voice thick with defiance.

"I think assisting with the ball will be a great way to get to know our teachers better. It might even promote house unity." Eilidh spoke with an air of peaceful dissent. It was almost infuriating.

"It's definitely better than detention," Remus said, seeming to speak more to Sirius than anyone else.

"We might even come to do it enthusiastically," Peter added.

"I'm happy to hear that we've come to an accord," Dumbledore nodded. With a patient smile, he turned to James and Sirius. "So, Mr Black and Mr Potter, can we come to an agreement?"

James and Sirius looked at each other, sharing a look of mutual defiance. However James cocked a brow and Sirius nodded, they had no choice but to concede.

"As Remus said, it's better than detention," James nodded, folding his hands together.

Dumbledore nodded his thanks and turned to Sirius, "And you, Mr Black." Sirius, in his last attempts at defiance, remained silent. He merely nodded his head, gritting his teeth as he did so.

"Good," Dumbledore smiled. "I think that if you report to Professor Slughorn's classroom, you'll find a committee of sorts has begun to form. I wouldn't want you to miss out so we'll have to cut tea short."

With polite thanks and swift goodbyes, the five of them left their Headmaster's office without a backwards glance.

"He's so..." James began, apparently failing to find the words to describe his feelings toward Professor Dumbledore.

"Scary," Peter offered.

"Manipulative," Sirius snarled.

"Lenient," Remus said. James, Sirius, and Peter turned to look at him, each with incredulous expressions. "He could have expelled us."

"He's right. We didn't even get detention," said Eilidh, speaking over James's argument.

"He's forcing us to work with Slughorn when I already have to join his stupid club. I'd rather be expelled," Sirius argued.

"Didn't seem like that when we were in there," Eilidh sang, skipping ahead of them. Sirius opened his mouth to argue further but James interrupted him with a hand on his chest.

"Don't," James advised, "it's not worth it. We have no choice but to get this over with." And with that, they made their way into the dungeons.


	15. The Alum Ball Committee

Lily was sitting at the front of the room with her chin in her hand. Snape was nowhere to be found which was a rarity but she still wasn't alone: Marlene and Mary sat on either side of her.

He found it strange that he was still aware of her movements, even though he sat with his back to her, laughing at Sirius and Peter not being able to figure out that the word he chose was Snivellus when they had the letters S-V-L-S and he had drawn an obscenely large nose on the hanging man's face. They had passed the point of trying to pretend to be listening to the Committee debate and make decisions on a ball he had no interest in attending because the one girl he would ever consider going with hated him so much that the prospects of going out with him "ruined" things for her. The same girl who giggled at something Marlene whispered in her ear - the sound of it caused his stomach to squirm pleasantly yet his heart still ached at her words.

To distract himself he focused on Sirius who had taken the parchment and finished the drawing -adding his own embellishments - before filling in the final letters. Peter finally seemed to get it because he snorted loudly, causing Sirius to laugh, James to chuckle, and Remus to peer at them out of the corner of his eye, smirking. Lily looked over her shoulder at them curious and slightly disdainful. Professor McGonagall sent them a warning look but they carried on, pretending not to care. Pretending that he couldn't feel their eyes on him. Pretending that he wasn't "ruining" things by simply feeling.

"Mr Potter do you have something you'd like to share with the committee?" McGonagall asked in a firm voice. Peter only laughed harder so he hid his face in his hands so quickly his head almost hit the table. Sirius sobered up enough to hide his amusement behind a badly disguised grin. James cleared his throat to stop his laughter.

"Yeah, the theme. Why not make it… Starry Night? We've been talking it over and think it's a brilliant idea," James grinned, barely able to contain himself when he heard Peter hissing with laughter.

"You should have said something sooner, James," Slughorn smiled widely. McGonagall looked at him as if telling him that even if Slughorn hadn't realised he was being played, she did. "We're just voting on our top three choices now." Slughorn pointed to the blackboard behind him where he had written a list of themes.

"Ah, bollocks," James grumbled and collapsed onto the table, using his arms to muffle his giggles.

"Five points from Gryffindor, Potter, for your language," McGonagall said and when Professor Slughorn returned to his blackboard she leant back and whispered; "If you're not going to pay attention you'd better find something quiet to do."

"Yes, ma'am," Sirius promised in a tone of exaggerated sincerity. Remus shook his head and began writing on a piece of parchment, smirking all the while.

Not paying attention to the committee! That's quite rude. - R.L.

Like you were paying attention Moony - the S.O.B

i thought he was gonna start drooling -J

You're confusing me with yourself, James. You're the one that drools. Why are we calling me Moony? -R.L.

Because we are simply over the moon for you - P.

your the mooniest moonchild there is ya LUNatic -J

We could go back to Moonchild if you want? - the S.O.B

Heavens no! But you're still the most obvious people that have ever existed. People will start to notice and ask questions. -R.L.

We'll just tell them that you really like showing people your butt -the S.O.B.

the perfect back story… get it cuz your butts on your back -J

I am going to kill you both -R.L.

death threats? i thought we were friends? - J

I don't think Dumblebumbles would like to hear you talking like that - the S.O.B.

I don't think 'Dumblebumbles' would appreciate you calling him that -P.

What are you talking about? You came up with it -the S.O.B.

No I didn't you did? -P.

No, look! It's right there - the S.O.B.

It's literally

James have we figured out what we're going to do for Halloween? -P.

You can't ignore the obvious, Pete. It's right there! -the S.O.B.

I still think dungbombs are a good idea -P.

I think it might be a bit too juvenile for what he's trying to go for - R.L.

what do u mean 'he'? your helping youve got no choice -J

Oh okay, Peter. Ignore me. Fine. I was going to say dungbombs is a fine and classic idea but now I agree with Remus. They're much too juvenile. -the S.O.B.

Oh gee aren't I clever coming up with a truly awful nickname for our Headmaster? Ha Ha Ha Dumblebumbles will surely go down in history. -P, at his most sincere.

Do I really have no choice? -R.L.

By Godric Gryffindor's pet lion Pete, I had no idea you could be so conceited. Calling yourself clever? - the S.O.B.

There's no winning with you -P.

we cant do it without you! -J

did gryffindor have a lion? -J

Merlin himself could raise from the dead just to tell me he didn't and I would not believe it -the S.O.B.

Dungbombs are go? We could spruce them up a bit - the S.O.B.

I think I could charm them to delay their reaction. Make sure they explode in someone's face? -R.L.

fine. we'll use them for the hufflepuffs - J

I think the Hufflepuffs could do with a bit more than dungbombs mate. - the S.O.B.

there just hufflepuffs? -J

You know, I think that's borderline offensive? You're being prejudiced. Moony what do you think? -the S.O.B.

I think we should hear James out before we really decide, but yes I think you're right. Peter? -R.L.

I agree with James. They're just Hufflepuffs. -P.

merlins left arse cheek! HAVE you seen them play quidditch! besides they don't really do anything ive never had any trouble with them. -J

I think we might need an intervention. -the S.O.B.

You're right, James. They're too nice for anything more than Dungbombs. Intervention for what, Sirius? -R.L.

Are we forgetting Wilkes? The seventh year who was a Death Eater with Smellfoy. He was a Hufflepuff and I certainly had a problem with him. -the S.O.B

An intervention for James's… problem. -the S.O.B.

dungbombs will be used for ravenclaw then. - J

if ur talking about my gramar - it is not a problem. -J

What were you talking about, Sirius? -R.L.

Has no one noticed that James's use of 'offensive terms' has increased dramatically? I know we've been hanging out with a crazy Irish woman but that's no excuse -the S.O.B.

I have -P.

look who's talking! -J

Petition to start a swear jar? -R.L.

no. -J

No, it's only weird when he does it - the S.O.B.

That's not really fair, Sirius. -R.L.

Ha! intervention cancelled what are we doing to the Hufflepuffs? -J

I never said it was cancelled. I still think we should use a swear jar. -R.L.

We should get a jar for every time James touches his hair. -the S.O.B.

He'd go bankrupt and we like Mrs P too much for that -R.L.

we should have an intervention for remus's snoring and sirius's singing -J

I do not snore! - R.L.

Ha I don't get an intervention! And yes you do. You sound like a chainsaw -P

I don't know what that is but yes you do snore. - the S.O.B

Let me live James -the S.O.B.

what is a chainsaw? and I will let you live as soon as you stop disturbing the peace! -J

I sing with the voice of an angel! You're just jealous because you sound like a cat in heat -the S.O.B.

A chainsaw is a motorised axe and it sounds exactly like Remus snoring. -P.

voice of an angel! hahahahaha that is the funniest thing youve ever said this is why were friends you always make me laugh -J

I thought we were talking about the Halloween prank? -R.L.

Dungbombs for the Hufflepuffs. Sirius singing for the Ravenclaws? -P.

perfect! theyll have a headache for a month! -J

Or we could just put James on their Quidditch team -the S.O.B.

That might be too mean, we should do that to the Slytherins -the S.O.B.

We could steal all their furniture

Or glue all their furniture to the ceiling

Or paint their common room in Gryffindor colours

Or

MATE! you can insult me and my hair and my grammar you could even insult my mother but you do NOT mess with quidditch -J

dont insult my mother i will kill you -J

Death threats? I thought we were friends? -R.L. quoting James Potter

What if we do a scary prank for the Hufflepuffs? Like

Your mums really good at quidditch why would I insult her? -the S.O.B

STOP TAKING THE PAPER! -P.

Lets focus on the prank before you say something that you'll regret. Halloween is only a few weeks away and we don't even have a plan yet, what if we need to order something? -P.

your right peter though i always thought sirius was excellent at focusing -J

My focus is nothing compared to your drive and determination James -the S.O.B.

sirius you are the kindest person ive ever met where would i be without you? -J

Murdered and thrown into a dumpster -R.L.

Nonsense! Who would want to kill James? He's the most wonderful person I've ever met -the S.O.B.

im not as wonderful as you honestly you should meet yourself -J

Aw, mate, I love you too -the S.O.B.

not as much as i love you -J

Preposterous! - the S.O.B.

contrary, 'tis the most logical evaluation of our relationship -J

You are the more lovable one -the S.O.B.

to that i feel i must agree -J

How dare you? I bite my thumb at thee! -the S.O.B.

bite your thumb at me! it is i who bites mine thumb at thee! -J

As entertaining at this is Peter's right. We're running out of time to plan -R.L.

Thank you! Merlin -P.

Scaring the Hufflepuffs sounds fun -the S.O.B.

well find a boggart somewhere around the castle and hide it in my trunk till halloween then release it in their common room - J

your rebuttal good sir! -J

An excellent idea -the S.O.B

My rebuttal! Your mother is a hamster and your father smells of elderberries, how's that for a rebuttal you finky headed animal food trough water! -the S.O.B.

fucking purebloods man they're so weird! -J

Aren't you a pureblood? -R.L.

its questionable, especially after reading that -J

JAMES USED A COMMA! - the S.O.B.

WE GOT OFF TOPIC! -P.

Right. We can't plan to use something we don't have. We might not be able to find a bogart in time for Halloween. Then what? The Hufflepuffs go un-pranked? -R.L.

The injustice! We could hide in their common room after we're done with everyone else and just jump out at people -the S.O.B.

Boring. -J

Okay, what if we talked to the ghosts? Maybe they could haunt their dormitories for the night. -R.L.

Better idea! Do you guys know about muggle Haunted Houses? -R.L.

The castle's already haunted. They see ghosts on a daily basis so it wouldn't be scary -J

No! Muggle haunted houses are really scary. My brother took me through one once and they made it look like it was a murder scene and that the crazy guy who killed him was still in there and he kept popping up in different rooms. It was terrifying. -P.

Yeah, my mum went to one that had an asylum theme. Apparently, a friend of hers couldn't make it through and they had to send someone in to drag her out -R.L.

Yeah, my brother had to carry Zach out -P.

Who is Zach and why do you have a brother? -the S.O.B.

oh, peter has an entire secret family he didn't tell us about. zachs his little brother who thinks robes are dresses, his older brother is adam and he has a sister and a mum and an uncle. we met them because we went to his house over the summer holiday unexpectedly -J

They're not a secret. They've just never come up -P.

I feel like I don't know you at all - the S.O.B.

So haunted houses? -R.L.

Do not change the subject Moony! Why is Peter hiding his family from us? -the S.O.B.

I'm not they've just never come up and you're the one that keeps changing the subject. What do you think of muggle haunted houses -P.

dont know never been in one -J

Exactly how can we have an opinion on something we've never experienced -the S.O.B.

It's decided then. We're doing it just so James and Sirius can form an opinion. It's for the Hufflepuffs right? -R.L.

You're doing it then. We don't know anything about

"Mr Potter," Professor Flitwick called squeakily for their attention so suddenly that Peter jumped and stuffed their scroll of notes into his book bag before James could finish writing. "You and your friends can join our group since you don't seem to have a preference."

James looked around the room and saw that people were indeed forming large groups each led by a different professor. McGonagall had a small group of seventh years already hunched over pieces of parchment, their quills only stopped to dip into their inkwells. Slughorn had the majority of the Slytherin students present gathered around a large amount of linens of various fabrics and colours. Neither of the groups seemed to be doing anything interesting so James decided to take a chance with his Charms professor.

"Merlin's beard Professor, you act as if you don't know you're our favourite," James smirked, gathering his things. He could have sworn he saw Flitwick smile at him before turning away.

Lily was in their group and thankfully not Snape - he was still nowhere to be found but Marlene, Mary, Persephone, Josie, and Eilidh were all present along with a few younger students all of whom were Ravenclaws.

"What are we doing?" Remus whispered to Eilidh when Flitwick's back was turned.

"Food," she said out of the corner of her mouth.

Peter perked up instantly. Remus looked relieved.

"Does that mean we have to make the food?" Sirius asked, looking rather sceptical. Eilidh shrugged and turned forward just as Professor Flitwick settled himself on top of a stack of books so he could be properly seen over the table.

"I was hoping for a representation of each house but I suppose this will have to do," Flitwick said after glancing at the students gazing back at him. "We are in charge of choosing what food will be served at the Alum Ball," he spoke as he passed out parchment and quills to each student. "The ball is supposed to celebrate each house for its uniqueness but also celebrate house unity. So, think about that while you make a list of what sort of food you'd like to be served at the ball."

It could have been his imagination running wild but James could have sworn he saw Lily glancing over the top of her clipboard at him on multiple occasions.

The look could have been reproachful. Perhaps he didn't look like he was actually doing anything. He hadn't written anything down but how exactly could food represent Gryffindor - without getting weird that is. Peter has simply written down a list of his favourite foods (fudge flies were written twice), Sirius wrote Not Dragon Balls, and Remus was, like himself, staring at his parchment hoping that if he concentrated hard enough the words would simply appear on the page.

"Hey Potter," Lily whispered, making Sirius move over so she could sit next to him. James had been so concentrated on not looking at her, he hadn't noticed her movement. Sirius smirked over her shoulder wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive sort of way. "Think of anything interesting?"

"Er-no." James had never been so confused in his life. Hadn't it been just a day ago since she told him he ruined things for her? Was that exactly what she said?

"Bugger off Black, we're having a private conversation," Lily whispered harshly. Sirius had angled himself around Lily and was gazing at them with a stupid and embarrassing expression.

"Evans, love, he's gonna tell me everything anyway," Sirius smirked. He could be so damned irritating at times.

"See if Eilidh's thought of anything good," James ordered rather than kicking him under the table. Sirius feigned a pout then turned away from them.

"So," Lily said, turning to face him again. She bit her lip and scrunched her nose. He was not yet used to her facial expressions so he couldn't tell he she was simply thinking or if she smelt something horrid.

"Yes, Evans," he said, leaning back in his chair trying to look casual and cool and not like there was a storm of emotions brewing inside him just because she was speaking to him voluntarily. It wasn't until he caught her staring at his hand did he realise he was messing with his hair again.

"I was just wondering if you were mad or angry or something," she shrugged, her voice light though she was avoiding his eye.

"Er… no?" James answered. Her question only added to his confusion. He felt that if he spent another moment in her presence he would begin to question if he really knew anything besides Quidditch and dung bombs.

"Okay… good," she straightened up, nodded, and picked up her quill again, rolling it between her fingers.

"Why would you think I was mad?" he asked, picking at the corner of his parchment. What exactly had Remus told her when she asked about him?

"Oh, I just thought I was kinda mean when… yesterday in Honeydukes and I thought I might have hurt your feelings," Lily answered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and gripping her quill tightly. "I mean I'm glad I didn't hurt your feelings especially when you were actually being nice I just wasn't expecting it 'cause you're usually… you know what I mean."

"That half of my personality is an annoying prat and the other half is a stuck up butt waffle? Oh, yeah, I know," James joked, trying to ease her nerves because he could see now that she was truly nervous - this was uncharted territory for them. Instead, it only seemed to make it worse. She bit her lip and ducked her head causing her hair to fall around her face. James nudged her shoulder. "Hey, I was joking. Apology accepted if that's what you want."

"As long as we're fine - or as fine as can be between us, then I'm happy," Lily said, looking up and straightening herself again. He really wished he could get her to not look so determinedly indifferent so that maybe he could actually tell what she was thinking.

"I think we're doing excellently for us, so you should be ecstatic," James smirked and cocked an eyebrow. She smiled at him and chuckled though it didn't quite reach her eyes - there was something sad about in them. "What is it, Lily?" he asked, instantly concerned and ready to do whatever needed to be done to banish that sadness.

"Nothing," Lily said, her voice high and eyebrows raised in shock. James studied her eyes. Like Sirius, they seemed to be the only way he could read any emotion off of her.

"Mate," Sirius called, reaching around Lily to thump him on the shoulder. "Eilidh wants Haggis."

"No, I don't," Eilidh protested, her voice came muffled. She had buried her face in her hands. Remus was chuckling though trying to hide it for Eilidh's sake.

"Haggis and cabbage, look at her parchment," Sirius smirked and ripped the parchment out of Eilidh's hands, tearing a corner off in the process.

"You wrote it, you cock nosed butt waffle," Eilidh whispered furiously, her arms stretching over Remus, reaching for the parchment.

"It's pompous butt waffle, please give Evans some respect," James told her, taking the parchment from Sirius's hands. Lily groaned and turned away, smiling. He moved his glasses atop his head and pretended to inspect the writing carefully. Sirius hadn't even bothered to disguise his handwriting but he couldn't help but tease her a little. "Well, Eilidh, if it makes you feel any better I think you're right. You do need to have Gryffindor's courage in order to eat Haggis and cabbage."

"You know this would be hilarious - really, really funny if I were Scottish. Because, idiots, Haggis is a Scottish dish." Eilidh smiled wryly and snatched the parchment back.

There was a moment's pause before Sirius decidedly said, "It's still funny," and James announced his agreement.

"Plenty of people like Haggis," Remus said while Eilidh glared, trying to hide a smirk.

"Are you trying to tell us something Moony?" James drawled.

"Just that you're being inconsiderate to people's tastes," Remus answered.

"Moony likes horse guts," Sirius announced. Eilidh rolled her eyes.

"I think it's sheep," Remus corrected. Neither James nor Sirius had a chance to reply because Professor Flitwick had called for their attention.

"It's almost time to go so quickly write your name on your parchment. We'll discuss everyone's choices during the next meeting. And third years please remember your essays are due tomorrow." Flitwick waved his wand and the parchment flew to the front of the table in a neat pile.

The students filed out, James and Sirius at the front of the crowd. Their conversation didn't end until they had reached Gryffindor Tower. It was discovered the Moony really did like Haggis.


	16. Evasive Action

The Monday after a Hogsmeade weekend was always dreadfully boring, to the point that even watching Peeves startle the first years out of their sleepy stupor couldn't cheer their spirits. The day seemed especially bleak when the ceiling in the Great Hall reflected a horribly blue, cloudless, autumn sky, while they were bound to be indoors all day in class. However, there were rare moments when things would start to liven up usually because of a student in possession of a good sense of humour. In this moment it was Gabe Pevensie helping Frank Longbottom finish his Divinations homework by predicting that Dirk Cresswell would lose his hair by getting his head stuck in a toilet. To which James laughed while bringing a spoonful of cereal to his mouth, dropping it, and hitting his knee on the table while trying to dodge it.

"I predict that James Potter will die of his own folly," Remus said smartly.

"I predict that Remus Lupin will die by suffocating under his own pillow tonight," James returned, clutching his bruised knee.

"At the hand of Jamie's pride," Sirius added with a smirk.

"Pfft, I will die gloriously," Remus said, thrusting out his chest heroically before laughing. "Probably rescuing you lot from some stunt."

"You'll die gloriously on a full moon probably choking on rabbit bones or something," Peter retorted over the rim of his pumpkin juice.

"Shhhhhh," Remus hissed, smiling into a piece of toast.

"Uh-oh, better watch out James," Sirius grinned.

"Mate, the bunny jokes are last year's thing," James said indignantly while messing up his hair and grabbing for a piece of bacon.

"The bunny jokes are never going to end!" Sirius said stubbornly, smirking.

"I have another prediction!" Remus announced, dusting his hands free of bread crumbs. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes, pretending to be channelling his Inner Eye. "I predict that our very own James Fleamont Potter will be slapped in the face by… hang on - I'm sensing something angry… with red hair and something green… could it be - Good morning Lily Evans! What a pleasant surprise!"

Lily had marched over to them looking very angry indeed. Heeding Remus's warning James stood and took a cautious step back as she approached watching for any signs that her hands were about to fly.

"Why is Severus in the hospital?" she asked brandishing a letter at him sounding like she already knew the answer.

"Because he's an idiot," James answered nonchalantly, munching on a strip of bacon.

"I didn't know that idiocy caused people to just spontaneously break out in boils," Lily snarled taking a dangerous step forward.

"It's a new phenomenon. I was just reading about it in the Prophit," James pulled the Daily Prophet out from under Sirius's elbow, ignoring the stupid smirk on his face. "Yes, see its right under 'Mad-eye Moody Does It Again.' He really is an excellent Auror, I wouldn't be surprised if they give him an Order of Merli-"

Lily snatched the paper out from James's scanning eyes and hit his shoulder with it, "If I find out this had anything to do with you-"

"Evans! I know I'm brilliant but honestly, that Moody is genuinely talented," James said, snatching the paper from where Lily held it threateningly pointed under his chin.

"The boils, Potter. The boils," Lily droned in a tight voice.

"Oh…. Evans, I'm shocked at you! Accusing me of giving Snivelly boils without any proof. That's not really fair is it?" James placed his hands on his hips.

Lily flared but instead of biting back she seemed to be thinking hard.

"Mate," Sirius said, trying to get James's attention.

"After the years of lecturing me on 'attacking' people without any proof of wrong doings-"

"-James."

"And starting unsolicited fights, which rarely happens by the way-"

"-Potter!"

"I'd think you'd know better than accusing someone of something without any proof-"

At this Sirius coughed loudly finally gaining James's attention. He gave James a stern look that seemed to suggest that it had been his fault after all. James merely rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Lily.

"Well, I hope you're happy with yourself," James finished, crossed his arms and sat with a "humph."

"Who else would do something like this?" Lily challenged. James shrugged.

"Maybe he did it to himself," Sirius suggested as he snatched a piece of bacon from Peter's plate. Lily squinted at him. Remus huffed as he put his face into his palm. Peter, who was about to take a sip of pumpkin juice, set down his chalice. James arched a brow at him, smirking. "I mean we all know something's wrong with him. Normal people don't have that much grease."

James snapped his fingers in sudden comprehension. "That's why his nose is so swollen! The boils must be the final stage of his disease. May Snivellus rest in peace."

James laughed, looking at Lily hoping she would share in his joke. Lily simply glared at him.

"These are for you," Lily snarled, slapping two letters against James's chest causing his skin to sting. She turned on her heels to stride away but James caught her by the wrist.

"Wait, Lily," James said, suddenly sombre. Lily looked at him, her expression guarded. "I predict that, if you're not careful, you could lose your beautiful hair to Snively's disease." Lily fought furiously against James's grip. "Remember to shampoo regularly, for my sake." Lily ripped her arm free from his grip so hard that she slapped him in the face with the back of her hand. She paused momentarily seeming on the verge of apologising then thought the better of it and strode away.

"Mate, that was absolutely the worst exchange I've ever seen between the two of you," Sirius laughed.

"Yeah, well it's more action than you've ever had," James said, massaging his jaw.

"I predict that Moony will be the next Divinations professor," Peter said quickly over Sirius's reply.

"Professor Moony Lupin, I like it," James smiled, seemingly forgetting about his cheek.

"What did those letters say?" Remus asked, succeeding in averting James's attention.

James picked up the letters from where he had accidentally dropped them on the floor. There was one for himself and Sirius, each addressed in the same loopy handwriting.

"Slughorn," Sirius moaned, tossing his letter down on the table, narrowly missing a plate of greasy sausage. The letters were from Slughorn cordially inviting them to a dinner party the first weekend of November. "I really don't want to go to class today," Sirius said, staring at the back wall though didn't seem to be really looking at anything.

"You can't just skive off lessons," Peter protested. "They'll find you wherever you hide."

"I wouldn't suggest pretending to be sick either. Unless you like the idea of spending the day with Snape," Remus added, sympathetically.

"We could spend the day in Moony's dog house," James suggested, putting his and Sirius's letters into his rucksack.

"Did you just call the shack I change in the dog house?" Remus asked, halting in bringing his bag over his shoulder.

"It's a code name Professor Moony, don't give me a detention," James smirked but Remus still glared at him. "Unless you want everyone to know where you transform into a w-"

"Shut up," Remus ordered through clenched teeth, dragging a hand over his face. "We can't spend the day there, all the professors know about it."

"Ah, but they don't know that we know so they won't suspect," James returned, tapping the side his nose and pushing Sirius out of his seat. Remus opened his mouth to protest further but all of his friends were already making their way out of the Great Hall.

"Fine," he muttered. "As long as we don't spend the whole day there!" Remus ran to catch up with them. "Were the boils your fault?" he asked, curiously.

James looked at Sirius instead of answering.

"As far as I know, that is what happens when you put Blubadox powder in someone's robes," Sirius said matter-of-factly.

"Merlin," James grinned throwing an arm over Sirius's shoulders, "we really are brilliant."

"Brilliant and daft," Remus said. "We cannot skip an entire day of lessons without repercussions."

"We're doing fine in our classes, Moony." James sang, leading them up the stone steps back to Gryffindor tower.

"Besides today's necessary," Sirius argued, following James.

"Right, we've got pranks to plan," Peter agreed, taking the last bite of the toast he had brought with him.

"And a map to finish," Sirius added with a wink.

"And general mischief to manage," James smirked. "We can call it our Break the Rules Day or… Sirius?"

"It's our fuck it day," Sirius said decidedly.

"How 'bout Shenanigans Day, in honour of McGonagall," Peter offered.

"How 'bout the day we get into so much trouble just because Sirius doesn't want to go to class?" Remus said, rolling his eyes.

"Doesn't have that ring to it," James replied. "What was it that Wilkes said last year… something about us owning Hogwarts?"

"He said we acted like we owned Hogwarts," Sirius answered obviously and gave the fat lady the password.

"No, he used a word, a good one, that would work perfectly," James said, thinking himself into a headache.

"Are you really trying to name today after your slacking off?" Remus asked in exasperation.

"It was a good word Moony!" James grinned. "Anyway, you and Sirius should go get food so we don't have to come back for lunch. And remember-"

"-don't get caught! Thanks, Mum," Sirius said, pulling Remus out of the portrait hole before he could protest further.

"Oy!" James yelled, clearly affronted.

"She's not my mum, she's my mother," Sirius reassured from over his shoulder just before he disappeared from sight.

Remus's 'dog house' was a small, dingy, old two story house. The windows were boarded and broken, most of the furniture was marked with claws and teeth as was the floor and walls. The room they were in had a four poster bed, not unlike the ones in their dormitory, on which they were all sitting ignoring the groan of the springs. The door was severely beaten where it had been repeatedly fixed with magic after Remus's wolf broke it down in attempts to escape the house. The room contained the only window that was not broken and was boarded up in a strategic way so the light would stream into the room. Crumpled up bits of parchment were thrown aimlessly about the room, as they tried to perfect their Halloween prank. Their rucksacks full of food or potentially useful book were placed against the nearest wall.

They sat with their map of Hogwarts between them, screwing up their eyes in concentration, or daring one of the others to try an oddly coloured Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Bean. Their robes were all but removed in the rising humidity (James's hair, in particular, was reacting horribly to the condition.) They were all thoroughly stumped when it came to the Slytherin prank.

"We could set their alarm clocks all to the same time and hide them or disillusion them or something," Peter offered.

"Nah, too much work," James grumbled, sniffing a bean that seemed to be vomit flavoured.

"We wouldn't be able to get into the girl's dormitory anyway," Remus added, flipping through Extreme Incantations by Violeta Stitch.

"What if we put a Doubling Charm on just one alarm clock?" Sirius suggested, snatching a bean from James.

"So the poor bloke goes to turn off his alarm and ends up with four," James laughed.

"Yeah, mate, that spell is hypersensitive. Like the air blows wrong and the next thing you know your rooms full of whatever, alarm clocks," Sirius said, perking up now that they seemed to have a real plan.

"That still wouldn't work with the girls. We'd have to do something in their common room, like a cushion or something," Remus said.

"We could find a way to take down the wards," James protested.

"Or get a girl to go in for us," Sirius rolled his eyes, "It's not like we have one of those lying around."

"She agreed to help with the Death Eaters, not pranking the school," Remus argued, briefly looking up from his book. "Just use a cushion."

"No, it wouldn't be as funny," Peter said.

"Eilidh will help, she has a sense of humour," Sirius said, throwing a bean at Remus's chest.

"Yeah, Moony stop being so grumpy," James scolded, playfully.

"Fine, but none of you are good at riddles," Remus said, flicking the bean off of him.

"Huh?"

Remus huffed and laid the book out on his chest so he wouldn't lose his page.

"Yesterday, we said that I would be doing the haunted house in the Hufflepuff's common room leaving one of you to the Ravenclaw's with the dung bombs. None of you are good at riddles and that's how you get passed their door," he told them.

"Are you any good at riddles?" Peter asked what he seemed to be the obvious question.

"I'm alright but-"

"So I'll take Hufflepuff," James decided.

"And I'll take Slytherin," Sirius said before Peter could call it.

"But- I'll help James," Peter said, glaring dumbly at Sirius.

"No Pete, we need someone in point position," Remus argued.

"B- couldn't we just irritate Peeves for that," Peter fired, sounding more than a little annoyed.

"He goes too far when we leave him angry and unsupervised," James said matter of factly, popping another bean in his mouth.

"Fine," Peter grumbled, trying not to look too put out.

"Great. Now, what about the Slug Club?" Sirius digressed receiving collective groans from his friends.

"I swear if I have to think for another minute my head will explode!" Peter groaned, throwing himself back onto the pillows at the head of the bed.

"You would know best how to prank a bunch of rich people," Remus said slyly, returning to his book.

"With peasants," James said, seriously.

"And cheap wine," Sirius smirked.

When it came to the Slug Club inspiration seemed to fail them. Everything they came up with, as a joke or otherwise, was either "too boring" or "missing something" or just didn't fit. In a fruitless hope that a change of scenery would spark something in them, they ate their lunch traipsing through the outskirts of Hogsmeade village under James's Invisibility Cloak (until they realised that no one was paying attention - the cloak was discarded.)

With full stomachs and a need for warmth, they returned to their smouldering room in the Shack. They tried to think of something, anything, to do with the Slug Club for hours but they ended up pacing around the room, staring blankly at the wall, lying flat on their back imagining shapes out of the pattern on the ceiling, or rolling moth balls up and down the length of the room. Nothing was as good as their Billywig idea. Unfortunately, Billywigs were nearly extinct and only found in Australia and smuggling one into Hogwarts was too complicated for the end results even when they took into consideration that they'd be using it for Sirius's cat killing cousin.

Abandoning whatever hope they had left thirty minutes into what would have been their final class (double Potions) they cautiously headed to the Three Broomsticks wondering if Madam Rosmerta would have any qualms about serving underage wizards who were supposed to be in school.

She did, at first, have such a problem with it the boys were actually afraid she would literally throw them out but then they made her laugh. Actually, it started with an odd half-smile contorted with her aggressive scowl but Sirius was able to charm her into a grinning "Oh, all right. Just one butterbeer before you go." In the end, they had her in stitches, clutching her sides and laughing so hard she was in tears. Darling Madam Rosmerta sent them home with an entire pack of Butterbeer and a warning not to return by way of the front gate. Of course, they didn't really need the warning.

They snuck back in through the Whomping Willow. James peaked his head through the opening in the roots under his cloak as it was very important to keep the passageway a secret before exiting fully and allowing the rest to follow. They strolled through the castle trying to hide the fact that they hadn't spent the day in drafty corridors and dull classes. It was on their way back to Gryffindor Tower that they saw Lily and Eilidh coming out of the Hospital Wing.

"Fancy running into you here," James grinned, ran a hand through his hair, and leant against the wall stuffing his hands into his pocket in what he was sure was a cool way.

"Yes, especially considering we haven't seen you all day," Lily said suspiciously after recovering from her initial surprise. Eilidh merely sent the other three a significant look.

"Aw, you missed me," James smirked. He remembered the event in the Great Hall quite well (in fact his cheek still stung a little) and he was sure that she hadn't missed him at all but he also knew that the comment would infuriate her.

She did indeed flush a beautiful shade of scarlet but instead of glaring at him and stepping up to him invading his personal space (an act that was more than welcome) she broke eye contact and bit her lip.

"No," she muttered, "but I was looking for you. I wanted to apologise for this morning. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, especially when Severus doesn't even know what happened."

"Er." Guilt. That unpleasant feeling seemed to want to drown him at that moment. He couldn't accept her apology, he had no right. It should be the other way around but he couldn't just tell her the truth especially when things were going so well. She wasn't mad at him. She was talking to him. Pull a Sirius and deflect it. "How do you feel about pranks?"

"Wait, was it you. Please do not tell me it was you," Lily implored.

Abort. Mission Abort!

"I- that's not - I was trying to change the subject!" James stuttered. He couldn't see it but he knew Sirius had that dumbass smirk on his face. "Shut up, Sirius."

"I didn't say anything!" he responded, sounding shocked and rightly so.

"I can hear your thoughts!" James declared, knowing he sounded completely bat-shit crazy but he'd do just about anything to distract Lily from the questions zooming about her mind.

"Eilidh, do you know anything about…." Lily turned her accusatory glare to her completely innocent friend. Eilidh glanced over him once as if trying to determine if he were innocent or not. Strangely he felt as if she could really see through him.

"None of us knew anything about Severus being in the hospital. We were genuinely surprised to hear the news," she said, evasively but effectively.

Lily nodded and turned back toward him, her expression relaxed. A moment's silence fell in which James was, for once, at a loss for words.

"Lily does like pranks by the way," Eilidh said finally.

"When they're practical and enjoyable for both parties," Lily agreed though somewhat defensively.

"It was her idea to give Malfoy a hair loss potion," Eilidh told them.

"That was you guys!" Sirius exclaimed, his eyebrows nearly reaching his hairline.

"Honestly Black, its like you don't know us at all," Lily rolled her eyes, trying to look irritated but there was an undeniable smirk on her face.

"We could use your brilliance, Lily," Remus said with a kind smile. James grinned. Coercion was what Remus was best at.

"We've been planning a few pranks and need a little help," Peter explained, trying his best not to sound too giddy.

"Need is a strong word," Sirius said in an attempt to smooth over Peter's obvious desperation.

"We need your help," James stated. It seemed that desperation would be in their favour in this instance.

Lily and Eilidh looked at each other for a moment. Lily seemed reluctant, while Eilidh seemed to be asking permission.

"I'm in," Eilidh shrugged, hiding her flare of sudden excitement.

"W- we don't know anything about this!" Lily argued. Turning to them she added gently, "and I'm sorry but I've seen your track record and I don't want to be expelled."

"Don't be ridiculous Evans, we wouldn't get you expelled," Sirius said, appalled.

"It's a prank on the entire school. We need your Muggle expertise and your gender to pull it off," James explained.

"Our gender?" Lily asked, sounding sceptical.

"We live in a sexist society, what can I say?" James shrugged.

"If it's for the entire school, they'll want to prank the girls too," Eilidh told her, throwing caution to the wind in letting her mischievous grin show.

"Y- you mean you're breaking into other houses," she whispered, her eyes darting around the corridor looking for eavesdroppers.

"Yes," James said though it sounded more like a question. Lily looked at him then looked back down the still empty corridor, thinking. All eyes were on her as they waited. "I swear no one will get hurt," he whispered, leaning in so she could hear.

Lily looked at him, took a deep breath, and nodded. "Okay."

"Okay, you're in?" James asked, excitedly. He tried not to show it but he simply could not help it.

"Yes, I'm in. Could you not announce it to the world?" Lily smiled. Genuinely. Again. Three days in a row he got her to smile at him and not try to hide it.

"Excellent."


	17. Halloween 1974

I. A bit of Lily's internal conflict

All day Potter kept looking at her over his book or behind the teachers' backs. At first, it was funny, maybe even a little endearing but now it annoyed the hell out of her. How they ever got away with anything was beyond Lily's comprehension.

To say she was nervous would be a massive understatement (her stomach was in knots by the time it was first mentioned at breakfast) but there was something wonderful about the way her nerves were edged with excitement. It made her hands shake and the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, she was hopelessly distracted for the entire day, but she never felt more alive. Besides, there was no way for anyone to ever find out… unless they got caught.

And there was Severus to think about. They didn't lie to each other and they didn't keep secrets but she was working with James Potter. Lily had the slightest inclination that Sev knew. Especially because Potter kept looking at her and she was avoiding his comments on the matter. There was no need for him to ever really find out. It was an innocent prank. Anyway, the feud between Sev and Potter seemed to be at an all time low since Hogsmeade. It wasn't so bad that she was hanging out with him if things were settled between them.

That made her feel a little better and told herself that she only lied about helping to set up a Gryffindor Halloween party instead of going to the feast for the sake of the prank, not because of Potter.

By the time she reached the boys' dormitory, her nerves and all thoughts of Severus were flushed out by a rush of excitement. Their door was already open. Through it, she could see Remus sitting on the edge of his bed replacing his school books with an obscene amount of Dungbombs. Eilidh and Black were sniggering together, sitting on a trunk on the opposite side of the room. Peter was helping a shirtless Potter pin up a sheet over the far wall, probably covering up some kind of damage.

She walked though cautiously, knocking on the door as she did. Eilidh and Black burst into a fit of giggles and Potter spun around. Too scared to look any further than his nose, Lily stared into his eyes, her face feeling warmer than usual.

"You're late, Evans!" He thrust his chest out and put his hands on his hips looking hilariously like Peter Pan.

"I was almost abducted by aliens," Lily said seriously, plopping herself down on Remus's trunk. Potter shook his head looking stern for a second then snorted. "I'm serious. You should get dressed. I heard they prefer their victims half naked."

He looked down at his bare chest, shocked and blushing a little like he hadn't realised he forgot to put on a shirt, and scurried to his trunk.

Eilidh turned to look at her, trying not to laugh. "James was too distracted trying to get the place looking presentable for you."

"It always looks like this!" Potter said, pushing his head through a jumper with a bit of a red tinge on his cheeks.

"When I first got here the floor didn't exist." Eilidh rolled her eyes at Potter who turned around and seemed to not be listening.

"Jamie's cleaning is nothing compared to what he did at practice." Black grinned, watching Potter out of the corner of his eye. Potter threw a pillow at him. He caught it and held it up creating a barrier between his face and Potter. "He would not shut up about y-"

Potter charged Black and tackled him onto his bed. Black thrashed, trying to wiggle himself out from under Potter. Eilidh had to move lest she'd be hit by Black's violently flailing limbs. Potter caught Black's arms and pinned them down.

"Look under that sheet if you get a chance. It's hilarious," Eilidh whispered as she took a seat next to Lily. Lily smiled in response but kept her eyes on the wrestling match on the bed. It looked quite dangerous. Black was able to lift Potter almost two inches before he forced himself back down again.

"Okay, does everyone have all the supplies they need," Potter began with Black still fighting to break free. Remus nodded and held up his rucksack now full of Dungbombs.

"What happens if I run out of inkwells?" Peter asked, holding a small parcel they had filled with inkwells they had "found" around the castle.

"Then take off your clothes and do the chicken dance," Eilidh smirked causing Peter to blush.

"That certainly would be distracting," Remus chuckled, eyes dancing with mirth.

"Peeves is more than likely to join you before you run out," Lily said with a reassuring smile.

"Nah, Peeves is pranking Filch tonight," Potter told her. He suddenly let out a yelp and jumped off of Black, rubbing his side. Black sat up gasping for breath.

"You fat oaf, you could have killed me!" Black yelled and pushed Potter off the bed. Potter caught himself before hitting the floor, whipped out his wand and spun around only to be faced with Black's ready wand.

"Oy!" Lily called, halting Potter and Black mid-action. A duel between the two was the last thing they needed at the moment. "Peter has an issue."

They both dropped their hands with a slight groan of irritation.

"He'll get caught before he runs out," Black said, waving his hand dismissively.

"As long as he uses them sparingly," Potter added as an afterthought.

"So, you're just gonna let your friend take the fall for you?" Lily asked said, indignantly, standing as if in protest.

"That's the point of having someone in Point Position, Evans," Potter explained nonchalantly.

"We usually find a way to get each other out of trouble, Lily," Remus said when Lily continued to look disdainful. "Right, Pete?"

"Right," Peter nodded half heartedly, suggesting that their plans didn't always work.

"So you do have a plan to help Peter?" Lily asked, looking at Potter.

"I fully intend on rescuing Peter, yes," Potter answered.

"That doesn't sound like you have a plan," Lily said, crossing her arms. She raised her eyebrows as Potter rolled his eyes.

"I plan on coming to Peter's rescue and using my brilliance to get him out of trouble," Potter said triumphantly.

"You're an idiot," Lily decided, shaking her head.

"Fine. I plan on using my idiocy to get Peter out of trouble," he returned, looking a little deflated.

"Excuse me, Mr and Mrs Potter, I hate to break up the love fest but we're running on a schedule," Black said, quickly. Lily scoffed, they would destroy each other if they ever were to marry.

"Right." Potter clapped his hands together returning his full attention to the task at hand. "Does everyone remember how to get into their Houses"

"Yes. And everyone remembers what they're supposed to do and that we're supposed to meet back here when we're done," Black said irritably. He counted the things to remember on his fingers then slumped against one of the posts of the bed.

"Fine," Potter said, glaring at Black, "but if something goes wrong -"

"- you're blaming me. Got it. Let's go." Black stood, stuffed his wand into the waistband of his jeans, and led everyone out the door.


	18. Halloween 1974

II. Riddles

Peter was first to leave through the portrait hole then James and Lily and later Sirius and Eilidh, leaving Remus alone in the common room. He took his time slipping the Ravenclaw Quidditch robes James had "borrowed" for him over his own clothes. Putting the petty theft out of his mind was shamefully easy knowing that the more he looked like a Ravenclaw the easier it would be to enter their Tower. He was a bit nervous to be working alone on a prank. It was something he had never done. What if not all the Ravenclaws had left yet and he was caught. Were Ravenclaws known for being merciful? He could certainly hold his own in a fight even if he was out numbered of that he was confident having taken down a seventh year with one spell only a few weeks prior. Besides the Ravenclaws he knew were nice if not a little odd. The only thing he really had to worry about was that riddle.

He was mediocre at best when it came to riddles. The more he thought about it the more he came to realise that maybe Sirius would be better equipped for this task given his fixation with the Daily Prophet's crossword puzzles. Or even Peter (puns were a kind of wordplay.) But Peter was terrible at charms; he could remember every date of every battle of the Goblin War but ask him to perform a simple summoning charm and he was more than likely to cause an explosion. Sirius, on the other hand, was excellent at charms but he was much too excited to be pranking the Slytherins to even suggest trading places.

So there he was stepping out of the portrait hole on his way to Ravenclaw Tower smirking at the Fat Lady almost screaming with laughter with her usual visitor, Violet. They were so enthralled by their own conversation that they didn't even realise his odd attire. He had been a bit worried to dress up as a Quidditch player having seen how much attention James received, especially after a match, but he was happy to see that he was hidden in plain sight. He passed very few people, mostly prefects, who's eyes only glanced over him once and never lingered on his face - he might as well have been wearing an invisibility cloak.

Having finished his climb of the dizzying spiral staircase that led to Ravenclaw Tower he paused unsure of what to do before a plain wooden door. It had no handle but it did have a bronze door knocker in the shape of an eagle. With a steady hand, he reached forward and knocked once. Without any hesitation the beak of the eagle opened but instead of emitting a bird's cry a soft musical voice sounded: "This thing all things devours: birds, beasts, trees, flowers; gnaws iron, bites steel; grinds hard stones to meal; slays wizards, ruins town and beats high mountain down.

What? He thought to himself, mulling over the bird's words. What sort of thing could destroy everything? Obviously, it's something even magic can't fix or else wizards wouldn't be included. An omnipresent force. Death.

Death certainly did seem to be the best answer but he thought that might be a bit too dark. Besides death was in the question - what causes death for everyone and everything.

"Time!" He didn't mean to say it out loud but as the thought occurred to him he felt so sure of himself that the word seemed to burst through his lips of its own accord. Having heard the word spoken he was not so sure of himself and chewed on his bottom lip nervously waiting for something to happen. He didn't have to wait long for the bird's beak to open again.

"Well reasoned," said its tinkling voice and the door swung open.

Pride swelled in him as he walked in. The Ravenclaw common room was wide, circular, and airy. The windows were arched instead of square as they were in Gryffindor and the walls were decorated with fine silks of blue and bronze. Even stranger, the ceiling was domed and painted with stars which were mirrored in the dark blue carpet beneath. It was like he was standing in a small library with the amount of books that ornated the room. Opposite the door was a tall white marble statue of a woman. Remus's curiosity burned inside him. He wanted to explore every corner of the strange room to open every book upon the shelves but he had a job to do. A meticulous job that offered no immediate satisfaction but nonetheless a job so he set to work. Each Dunbomb was charmed so that they would have to be touched in order to be set off then they were hidden from sight, stuffed into arm chairs, hidden skillfully in the bookshelves and door jams. It would be months before they found them all.

He laughed at the thought of what his mother would say to see his hands in the state they were in by the time he had finished. They were covered in dung even when he took the precaution to only hold the bombs by his fingertips. After cleaning his hands with a wet cloth, he wiped down every surface that he touched taking care to leave no clues that he had been there. He stepped back to look at the work he had done and double checked to make sure he had not forgotten anything. He smiled proudly and mentally congratulated himself on the work he had done before heading back to Gryffindor Tower to wait for the rest of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The riddle was stolen from Tolkien - Dear god of fantasy fiction, please don't sue me!


	19. Halloween 1974

III. Progress

The more James learnt about Lily the more he was impressed, confused, and utterly enamoured by her. She was an odd mixture of things. She worried about everything but at the same time, she was carefree and wild. As they walked for the Hufflepuff House her brow frowned with worry James was instantly concerned.

"You keep making that face, Evans, you'll get frown lines," James warned, teasing her only because he assumed she was worried about getting caught.

"You're the one who's concerned about physical appearances, not me," Lily snapped back, her eyes moving over the corridor as if waiting for someone to pop out.

"I was joking," he smirked, nudging her shoulder, attempting to pull her out what ever mood she had jumped to and make her enjoy herself.

She looked at him briefly before turning back to her search of the corridor and sighed. "Sorry."

Moments passed and she did not relax. In fact, she only seemed to get worse as they got closer to the Hufflepuff House.

"You know we haven't actually done anything wrong yet," James informed her. Her worry coiled off of her and completely changed the mood of the game.

"What's your point, Potter," Lily snapped at him again.

"My point is, if you don't want to be here you don't have to be," James snapped back.

"If you don't want my help then why did you ask?" she yelled, coming to a sudden stop. James stopped and reluctantly turned to look at her. Why did things always end up this way between them?

"I never said I didn't want you here," he said gently, for once making an effort to calm her fury instead of igniting it.

"And I never said I didn't want to be here," she returned, her anger actually calming.

"You're not acting like you want to be here," James said tentatively.

"How exactly should I be acting?" Lily challenged. James studied her. Her brow raised and lips pursed, her posture defensive, her eyes never leaving him. She wasn't worried anymore.

"Like you're not afraid of being friendly with me," James said, taking a leap of faith. It appeared that he was right. Lily's expression fell and morphed into one of mortified panic. It was absolutely ridiculous. If she wanted to be friends with him, she should just be friends with him regardless of what anyone else had to say.

She took a moment to compose herself before responding.

"You can hardly expect me not to be worried about my friend's feelings." Lily chose her words carefully. James nodded in understanding, knowing that she meant Snape. "I really didn't want to bring this up," she said softly, beginning to walk again.

"Hey, if you want we can engage in some not-so-friendly friendly banter," James grinned, setting his whirling thoughts aside for the sake of enjoying his time with her. Lily chuckled softly and flicked a strand of hair out of her eye.

"What is it with you and conflict?" she questioned obviously amused.

"How do you feel about the Holyhead Harpies?" James smirked. Lily threw her head back and laughed. James thrilled. He had caused that.

"I am not going to argue about Quidditch with you," she said resolutely.

"Why not?" James questioned. It was a perfectly natural thing to argue about.

"I would never win," she smiled, a spark finally lighting her eyes. He grinned back at her trying to think of something she knew more about. "Do you know anything about Muggle music?"

"Thanks to Sirius, yes," he answered, intrigued by her question. "Though I admit we have an extremely limited knowledge."

"Hmm, that wouldn't be very fair then." Lily stared off into the distance to think.

"I know about wizard music," James offered.

"And which do you like more?" Lily asked, walking backwards to look at him.

"Wizard. But not because-"

"No one could ever rightly accuse you of being biased against muggles," she said quickly, shaking her head as if that was obvious. "But I do disagree with you."

"On what grounds?" James chuckled, reaching for her arm to stop her from falling down the marble steps for she was still walking backwards and hadn't seen that she had approached the start of the stairs.

"Muggle music has a wider range of emotion. Wizards - all they sing about are hippogriff and goblins," Lily claimed. James gaped at her for a moment.

"Someone needs to educate you on your musical genres. Obviously, Snape has terrible taste in music," James laughed, keeping his voice light. He was testing her, trying to find his limit.

"I have a radio," she laughed.

"Oh, that's why! You're only listening to the radio! I'll have to lend you some records so you can experience the truly emotional power of Valerie Vixen," James said, lowering his voice to almost a whisper as Peter's form came into sight. He was sitting on the bottom step of the marble stairs, trying to balance his box of inkwells on the tip of his wand.

With a finger on his lips, he gestured for Lily's silence and crept down as quietly as he could. Peter had yet to notice their approach. James grinned at Lily who was smiling back at him, holding her breath to contain her laughter. He jumped off the steps and landed in front of Peter. "All right, mate?"

Peter jumped and dropped his box and James dived to catch it before it hit the ground. "Merlin!" Peter breathed with a hand over his chest.

"Get your head in the game, Pettigrew," James smirked, tossing the box back to him.

"Being friends with him for so long I'm surprised you could be startled by anything," Lily laughed, descending the last of the steps.

"He gets you when your most vulnerable," Peter told her, adjusting the collar of his shirt. "Watch for Sprout when you're down there. She hasn't come up yet." James nodded and headed for the door.

"Thanks, Peter," Lily smiled, scurrying to keep up with James. "Valerie Vixen sounds like the name of a porn star!" Lily whispered, her voice echoing off the stone walls. There wasn't really a need for her to whisper but the silence of the corridor set the tone. James stopped in front of the pile of barrels and looked at her completely shocked.

"Too many blokes would fall into chronic masturbation. It'd be an epidemic," James said, squinting at her in the dim lighting.

"I take it you'd be one of them," Lily laughed, looking equally shocked. James felt his face burn as he struggled to find an answer. He was saved from having to speak though when the top of one of the barrels rolled open. James and Lily rushed to find a hiding place in the corridor containing only hanging portraits and a pile of barrels. Wishing he had his Invisibility Cloak he pulled Lily to his side and flattened himself against a darker part of the wall, hoping they would go unnoticed.

"Miss Evans?" Professor Sprout had climbed out of the barrels and looked directly at Lily. "And… Mr Potter. Why aren't you at the feast?"

"We were waiting for a friend," James answered promptly, hardly realising what he was saying.

"She wanted to show us something from her dormitory, Professor," Lily added without batting an eye.

"Which friend? I didn't see anyone in there," Sprout asked, not looking suspicious but mildly concerned.

"Annie Marino. She just got the new Valerie Vixen album," Lily answered, smirking slightly. James felt his face flush again.

"I see. Hopefully, she doesn't keep you too long. Those apple tarts are going fast," Sprout said, barely looking at them as she headed for the door.

"The house elves have certainly outdone themselves," James spoke to Sprout's retreating form. Hearing the door shut behind her he turned back to Lily. "I am never going to live down this Valerie Vixen thing am I?"

"Nope!" Lily smirked skipping forward. She wrapped her wand against the right barrel five times and watched as it slid open revealing the dark entrance to the Hufflepuff House.

"How did you know the password?" James asked her, slightly in awe.

"I have friends." She looked over her shoulder at him before disappearing into the dark.

Upon reaching the Common Room they set to work spilling fake blood on the floor, toppling over furniture, and making a general mess of the place. They charmed bits of the floor so who ever stepped on it would be stuck there. They filled clothes with balloons and tethered it, so it looked like a man standing in a dark corner. For their final touches, they locked the doors to the dormitories and stole all the candles so the only light in the place came from the fireplace.

Sniggering and smirking with each other they left the Common Room quickly and hurried out into the Entrance Hall. Peter was still sitting on the bottom step looking incredibly bored as he twiddled with his wand.

"Don't look so excited, Peter, you'll give everything away," James said, sounding slightly annoyed, beginning to ascend the stairs.

"A couple of students just went up that way," Peter informed looking up at him.

"You didn't stop them?" James stopped, suddenly concerned for Remus.

"They were Slytherins. I figured as long as they weren't returning to their house it wasn't a problem," Peter shrugged. James nodded, his concern lessened considerably.

"I'll be back for you in a mo. I just wanna make sure Evans makes it back to the Tower okay," James told him, marching up the stairs again. Surprisingly, Lily didn't say anything. She followed in silence all the way up the marble staircase until the silence nearly killed him.

"You wanna see what the Slytherins are up to?" James asked.

"They're probably not doing anything interesting," Lily answered with an odd expression on her face.

"Let's take the long way back to the Tower. Maybe we'll run into them," James smirked. Lily sighed but followed him.

Run into them they did.

James and Lily quickly checked the library. With no sign of anyone having been in there for some time they left.

"Maybe they went to the Astronomy Tower. People like to go there for dates," Lily told him, a note of apology in her voice.

"It is a pretty clear-"

"Out of the way mudblood!" a younger Slytherin snarled pushing past Lily hard enough for her to stumble. His companion laughed.

"OY!" James called furiously.

Lily caught his arm and pulled him back. "James it's alright."

"We're not afraid of you," sneered the second.

James ripped out of Lily's grip and pulled out his wand intent on making them fear him. Lily ran in front of him and stopped him with two hands on his chest lightly pushing against him. James looked past her knowing that if he looked her in the eye he would stop so he glared at the two Slytherins with a threatening snarl on his lips.

"James you don't have to fight everyone. Some people you just can't convince," she whispered. When he didn't respond she gripped the front of his robes and shook him a bit. He had no choice but to look back at her. He was instantly powerless, lost in her eyes. His pounding heart calmed and his grip on his wand slacked. "Please, James, put it away. It's not worth it."

James breathed deeply and stuffed his wand back into his pocket. He gently he pushed her hands away and stepped around her, looking at the two Slytherins again noticing for the first time a subtle hint of apprehension on their faces. He approached them slowly and as he did their fear grew.

"Her name is Lily," James said pointing behind him to where Lily stood, needing to correct the name they had called her first and foremost. He was careful to hold their gaze even as their eyes flashed to her. "She would do anything for you, even after what you just did. That kind of person deserves your respect." They nodded vigorously, not daring to disagree with him. "If I ever hear that word coming out of either of your mouths again, you'll be eating slugs for a week. Got it?" They nodded again. One of them turned to scurry away. The other look at Lily again.

"Sorry," he said meekly and without waiting for a response followed his friend.

James very reluctantly turned around. He didn't know if she would consider that to be too far. He really didn't want to have ruined things between them especially when things were going so well.

However, her expression wasn't angry but soft and thoughtful.

"It really wasn't worth it," she said quietly looking at the arms she held folded against her chest.

"I thought it was," James told her honestly. He had never seen her looking so vulnerable. His heart clenched with sudden sympathy - she was just a girl. "Lily, you're worth it. You're worth a million times that. And even if you weren't you wouldn't deserve to be treated like that, no one does."

Lily's head shot up suddenly as tears sprang into her eyes. James barely had time to blink before he was blinded by her hair as she collided into him with a force that nearly knocked the wind out of him. He stepped back to regain his balance and wrapped his hands around her waist. Her hold on his neck tightened slightly as the rest of her relaxed into him. His brain had gone haywire. Every inch of him seemed to tingle. There was a strange sense of comfort in the embrace that settled his stomach and completely calmed the beast that raged inside him. She pulled away a second more than what would have been considered appropriate for a platonic hug. Hope bubbled in his chest. With the heel of her palm, she dried her eyes as she gripped his shoulder with her other hand.

"Thanks," she chuckled.

"Your friends are awful," he told her. He hadn't said anything to evoke that reaction out of any normal person.

"You're friends with some of my friends," Lily reminded, smiling.

"Most of your friends are awful," he corrected. She laughed shaking her head.

"Come on. Take me back to the Tower." Her hand brushed against his when she walked past him. He wanted to reach out and take it in his own but he didn't want to push his luck so he walked her back with his hands clasped tightly behind his back.


	20. Halloween 1974

IV. Sound the Alarm

Traipsing through Hogwarts under an Invisibility Cloak with someone who was not James had been odd for Sirius. Stranger still was waiting for the Slytherin Common room to completely empty, encased in a distantly familiar floral scent instead of James's natural musk. Waiting there with Eilidh instead of James, trembling with excitement for their prank, was (he hated to admit) rather refreshing. At this point, James would have gotten bored and would suggest sneaking back into Snape's room to use the rest of his Bubotuber powder. Instead, Eilidh seemed to savour the anticipation of the moment; she still grinned excitedly, her eyes flashing dangerously whenever a Slytherin came near enough to touch. It was almost unnatural to see the similarities between her and James though. Like the way she clenched her hands as a large group of Slytherins left the Common Room. James would have done the same thing to stop his hands excitedly drumming his thighs in a moment they needed to be silent. Or when the Common Room finally emptied: A normal person would have waited for at least a fraction of a second to see if anyone else would come down from the dormitories. Instead, like James, she pulled the cloak from over their heads before the door had completely closed and was on her feet before Sirius had time to put the cloak away.

She peered up each staircase leading to the dormitories then turned back with a satisfied smirk. "You ready?"

"Always," he muttered, pulling his wand out of his jeans. "You be careful up there."

She had already started moving up the stairs when Sirius suddenly felt worried about leaving her on her own. What if she was too eager and wound up acting foolishly? If she got caught in the Slytherin dormitory she was not likely to be met with mercy and there'd be nothing he could do to help.

"Always." She repeated, grinning over her shoulder barely pausing her steps. She was good with a wand. She had proven that much in Hogsmeade so he was able to push the thought out of his mind and focus.

Reaching the top of the stairs he stopped for a moment, wondering which dormitory he should use. He pictured multiplying alarm clocks ringing in the early hours of the morning, spilling out of the dormitory and into the hall, eventually spreading into the Common Room. He decided on the one in the middle figuring it would be the most likely to wake everyone up, which would lead to more people touching the cursed clocks.

He waited outside the door listening for any sounds of life from within. Opening the door, he saw only the glowing eyes of a cat purring at him from under the bed. Looking around he spotted one alarm clock on the bedside table furthest from the door. Striding forward, careful not to let the floorboards creak, he heard the definite sound of someone's head hitting the wall adjacent to him followed by a muffled string of swears. Sirius ran forward, grabbed the clock, changed the alarm time to an unholy hour, set it back on the table making sure it wasn't bound to touch anything and tapped his wand against it muttering, "Gemino." He peaked his head through the door before running down the hall and into the Common Room, making for the foot of the girls' dormitory steps, intent on hurrying Eilidh.

"What are you doing here?" A thick voice cut through his peaked excitement with a jagged edge, successfully annihilating it. Regulus was sitting in an arm chair on the opposite side of the room with worry and fear etched into his face. He set down a book on the coffee table and replaced it with his wand. Sirius couldn't answer, his own shock had clouded his mind, making him unable to speak. By the time he regained control of himself, someone was pounding his way down the steps. Sirius tightened his hold on his wand and prepared himself for who ever was about to come through the door.

"What the hell are you doing here?" demanded a strident voice. Rabastan Lestrange came face to face with him upon entering his Common Room. Rabastan was a full eight years younger than his brother and Sirius's cousin-in-law Rodolphus. He was only a year older than Sirius, but he had such a superiority complex that he treated Sirius like a child. Sirius never cared much about the Lestranges. For the most part, they ignored his existence just as much as he ignored theirs.

Sirius turned back to Regulus whose eyes shifted frantically between the pair.

"Came to visit my brother. It's a holiday isn't it?" Sirius answered, this time not skipping a beat. He caught Regulus's eye, begging him to go along with it.

"Bit strange. He's never done that before has he?" Rabastan asked Regulus, suspiciously.

Regulus opened his mouth and for a split second Sirius believed that he would help. Sirius felt a premature rush of gratitude toward his brother. But then, Regulus stood there, mouth agape, his words seemed to be caught in his throat as his eyes tore from Sirius's face to Rabastan's. Feeling stung and foolish, Sirius raised his wand to Rabastan's chest and silently shot a Stunning Spell at him. Rabastan deflected it having already had his wand in hand as Sirius had expected.

"Eilidh!" he screamed urgently - they needed to get out of there fast. He vaguely heard her answer as he deflected spell after spell Rabastan shot at him. He avoided looking at Regulus at all costs. He didn't care to see Regulus standing there like a codfish watching as someone tried to beat the crap out of him. He especially did not want to see Regulus raising his wand against him - any curse he could be hit with would be better than that sight. "Eilidh hurry up!" he screamed again as jumped off the back of the couch to dodge Rabastan's advances. Rabastan shot another spell and Sirius ducked down and rolled hoping it would bounce off the wall and hit him instead. When he jumped back up he saw Regulus opening the door to the girls' dormitory. Two things came to mind: He was either opening the door so the noise of their duel would alert Eilidh and she'd come to his aid or he was luring her into an attack. He didn't want either of those. He didn't really need her help, besides she could get hurt.

Sirius lurched forward and Rabastan raised his wand in defence, assuming he was advancing to attack. Instead, Sirius reached down and hurled the coffee table toward Rabastan. The table would have hit Rabastan if he hadn't shot it out of his way, but it was the distraction Sirius needed. He was able to curse Rabastan's wand by muttering "Anaticula" knowing that the next spell he'd use, no matter what the spell, would only cause ducklings to fly out of his wand. With that in mind, Sirius was able to push Regulus out of the way just in time for Eilidh to finally get down the stairs.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door. Sure enough, they had to make their way through half a dozen ducklings. Rabastan was looking stupidly at the tip of his wand. Sirius pushed Eilidh through the door. As he turned around to shut it behind them, he saw Rabastan successfully curse a pillow causing feathers to litter the couch.

Imagining what that curse might do to him, fear fluttered through him for the first time in a long time. He raced to catch up with Eilidh. It wasn't long before he heard Rabastan's steps echoing off of the stone walls of the dungeon behind him. Eilidh was waiting for him at the exit.

"GO!" he ordered, hearing Rabastan's hurried steps growing closer. Instead of running she waved her wand to block a spell. She took him by the sleeve and pulled him into the Entrance Hall. Peter was already getting the third degree from Professor McGonagall while several students fruitlessly tried to scrub ink stains out of their clothes.

A large group of people was exactly what they needed. They slinked passed McGonagall unnoticed.

They met James at the top of the stairs. He didn't seem to notice their panic nor Sirius's urgent tugging against the hold on his arm.

"I need my cloak!" he hissed, urgently tugging back.

Sirius didn't have time to think about what James might be up to. He threw the cloak at him and pushed Eilidh away from Gryffindor Tower toward the tapestry that would take them to the third floor. He prayed that Rabastan didn't know about the passage but knew it was unlikely. They jogged down the third-floor corridor, dodging students returning to their houses, casting fervent glances over their shoulder.

"I think we lost him." Eilidh gasped, bending and resting her hands on her knees to help catch her breath.

Sirius mirrored her position, too exhausted to respond. He didn't think they had lost him but merely put a distance between them. It wouldn't be long before he'd find them again if they wasted too much time. He tapped her shoulder indicating that she should follow as he walked quickly, his lungs burning too much for him to actually run, for the nearest staircase.

Going to the staircase was a mistake. Rabastan spotted them through a crowd of students pushing their way up the stairs and pointed them out. Evan Rosier spun around searching for them directed by Rabastan's finger. Eilidh and Sirius lurched forward, fighting to lose themselves in the sea of students.

No matter how many erratic turns they took, Rabastan never lost sight of them for too long. Every time he spotted them again, he gained more friends. By the time they reached the sixth floor they were being pursued by an army of Slytherins coming from all over. It seemed they had split up, searching for them in twos and threes.

"I have an idea!" she called breathlessly over her shoulder.

"Good! Cause I'm bloody out of them!" Sirius called back, dodging yet another spell. Mulciber had joined the ranks and he, Rosier, and Avery were quickly gaining. If they didn't make it to Gryffindor Tower soon they were toast. She reached for him and pulled him into a less populated and darker corridor.

"Kiss me," she said. Her tone had a note of panic but when she looked him in the eye her gaze was sparked with excitement.

"What?" he asked. He wasn't sure if he heard her properly over the sound of his blood rushing and heart pounding in his ears.

"People are weird about PDA," she said matter of factly as if this would make him see her point.

"I know!" He almost laughed. Displays of affection of any kind usually gave him discomfort to some degree but public ones were worse and never failed to make him physically nauseous.

"Get out of the bloody way!" he heard Mucibler shout distantly.

Eilidh rolled her eyes, grabbed a fist full of his robes, and pulled him to her. Their lips came together almost violently painfully at first but then they softened. Her lips were like rose petals against his as his nose filled with the scent of jasmine.

He had told his friends that he had kissed lots of girls lots of times but this - this was his first kiss.

He knew he wasn't doing it right (wasn't he supposed to do something with his tongue?) He also knew - almost instantly - that he liked kissing. He liked kissing so much that when Eilidh pulled away he felt the absence of her lips and longed for another kiss.

"I think they're gone," Eilidh panted, looking down the corridor they had come from.

"Good," he said, staring at her. He had almost forgotten about the Slytherins. Eilidh looked back at him. She glanced at his lips and he felt them start to tingle. Would she do it again?

"Sorry about that," she blushed. Her cheeks were actually red as she looked down at her shoes, scuffing one of them against the floor. His mind flashed with a million things he could say and probably should say but for some reason, he just didn't say them. "I - er - didn't know what else to do."

"No - yeah - don't worry about it." He finally said something and that is what he chose. His brain seemed to have been disconnected from his mouth. He had snogged this girl (or she snogged him, but it didn't matter because snogging was definitely done) but he couldn't think of anything to say. He felt like he should say something. Anything! But no words came to mind, it didn't help that he couldn't get the scent of her off of him. He was confused more than anything. How was he supposed to feel about this? He didn't know if he just liked the kissing or if he actually liked her.

"We should… get back to the Tower," she suggested slowly, carefully measuring his expression. "Before they come back."

"Yeah," he said, his voice sounding unnatural even to himself. He didn't think he could manage more than one-word sentences at this point, he was too lost in the thoughts swirling around his head.


	21. Halloween 1974

V. Invincible

Why was it that Peter always got the most boring jobs? He wasn't completely useless. There was a bigger risk being out in the open, he supposed that was something. Wouldn't it be impressive if he didn't get caught? Then, just maybe, his friends would let him do something exciting for a change. He only had thirty-two inkwells; it was very probable for him not to get caught if he did it right. Most of his colleagues were back in the dormitory by now anyway. All he had to worry about was the Slytherins, so did he really have to use the inkwells sparingly?

Pulling himself into a standing position, he looked around the Entrance Hall for someplace he could hide while chucking inkwells at people. The suits of armour didn't offer enough coverage; no matter how he positioned himself, his legs were much too visible. The broom closet offered the perfect cover, but the door hindered his movements, and he wouldn't be able to throw things very well. If he hid in either the dungeons or the Hufflepuff corridor, he'd be seen and it would give everything away. The classrooms' corridor was too far away for his aim. Wishing he had James's Invisibility Cloak, he slumped back down onto his step and sprawled out, looking up at the ceiling. Looking particularly at the chandelier - the chandelier in which Peeves often hung to throw things at them. Peter sprung to his feet making himself slightly dizzy. Wondering how mad James would get once he found out, he pointed his wand in the direction of Gryffindor Tower and said, "Accio James's broom!" concentrating hard on the broomstick James so lovingly kept wrapped up under his bed lest someone try to steal it from the Quidditch changing rooms.

Moments later, the broom zoomed through the air and stopped waist level in front of Peter. He could see his shadowy reflection in the well-polished handle. He could feel it vibrating knowing it was time for take off. This was James's Quidditch broom and one of his most prized possessions. Still, he let them borrow it a few times. Sirius even took it once without permission and all he got was a "Mate, that's my broom!" It's not like he took the Cloak - that he was possessive about.

He took hold of the handle. Feeling it sway slightly under his grip made him suddenly remember his fear of heights. He didn't have time for second thoughts. There was a sudden rush of footsteps emitting from the Great Hall. He swung his leg over, gingerly eased the broom handle up, remembering how quickly this broom responded to touch and flew over to the door of the Great Hall just as it burst open.

A great flood of students quickly filled the hall as Peter stumbled for the box he stored in the pocket of his robes. He fumbled trying to get the box open and several inkwells dropped to the floor causing several students to shout in shock, jump out of the way, or look up at him probably expecting to see Peeves.

"Peter Pettigrew!" McGonagall called out in surprise. She had no doubt come to see what her students had shouted about and was now staring up at Peter with her mouth agape and eyebrows frowned half hidden behind her square spectacles. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Slytherin students heading toward the dungeons. He knew that Eilidh and Sirius were still down there so instead of responding to his professor, he jerked the broom's handle causing himself to shoot forward a bit more aggressively than he wanted but was able to stop. He grabbed a fistful of inkwells and dropped them at the feet of the Slytherins. They scattered and looked indignantly up at him. He merely laughed, his height giving him a sense of invincibility, and threw more - watching as the glass broke at their feet splattering ink onto the hem of their robes. They ran farther from each other toward the front door, others up the stone steps, the rest back toward the Great Hall in the safety of McGonagall's presence. All of them had their wands pointed at him. Still feeling invincible with an undeserved amount of confidence he grinned and dived forward, spinning so he'd dodge their spells in a way he'd seen Quidditch players do to avoid a bludger. However, Peter wasn't half as talented on a broom as those Quidditch players. He stumbled and lost his balance halfway through the first spin and fell, dropping his box of inkwells. He reached upward, frantically grasping for the falling broom handle. Finally, he was able to grab hold of it just as the box landed with a shatter. He clutched himself to the broom, holding on for dear life. He tried to swing back on but found he didn't have the strength. The students on the ground laughed as Professor McGonagall strode furiously toward him, avoiding the huge pool of ink.

"Mr Pettigrew!" McGonagall said severely, her nostrils flared and her lips so thin they almost disappeared.

His insides squirmed. He knew she wanted him to come down but he could not move and he certainly didn't want to drop.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall?" Peter grunted as he tried to keep his hold on the handle despite his sweaty hands and inexperienced muscles working against him.

"Get down here," McGonagall ordered in a voice of measured calm with one severe finger pointed to the very welcoming floor. Peter could not be more inclined to do as he was told had he been Imperiused. It was the distance between his hanging feet and the floor that caused his fingers to tighten their hold on the broom's handle of their own accord. It was the magic in the broomstick that held it into place seemingly hundreds of feet in the air that forced him to hang.

"I can't, Professor," he said meekly, staring determinedly at the ceiling so he could slow his now sporadic breath. Where had that invincible feeling gone? He ignored the giggles from the growing group of Slytherins below him and focused on glueing his hands to the broomstick and blinking back the pricks in his eyes. He heard McGonagall sigh heavily in exasperation, a sound that seemed to reverberate through the room louder than the students' laughter.

"Try to edge forward, toward the end of the broom handle," McGonagall advised, her voice now calm, patient, and much kinder than he had ever heard it. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before. Feeling a bit foolish, he relaxed his grip on the broomstick, just enough to allow his hands to edge forward. The broom tipped at the shift in weight and began to descend. It was slow but the sudden movement frightened him and he fought against it.

"It's alright Peter. I won't let you fall," McGonagall vowed. He looked down at her, her face kind and no longer stern, her wand ready to catch him should he fall. He felt a rush of affection for his professor and he lightly tugged the broom handle downward letting the broom do the work. He landed on the balls of his feet. McGonagall lifted the broom from his hands letting him settle onto his feet the rest of the way.

"Where are Potter and Black?" asked Professor McGonagall returning to her usual professionally brisk manner. Peter shrugged, indicating that he didn't really know hoping that she would assume they weren't involved.

"Back in our dormitory," Peter said, his throat tight and tears brimming thinking of Sirius trapped in the Slytherin house while the Slytherins were now slowly making their way back to their dorms. He had failed his friends in possibly the worst way. He cursed himself for being bitter with them at the start of this. They had trusted him to keep them safe, to keep their adversaries at bay and he had failed.

McGonagall arched one severe eyebrow and looked him over with such scrutiny, he was beginning to wonder if she had known about everything all along.

"Did they put you up to this?" She questioned, determinedly keeping eye contact. He looked back into her eyes wondering if he dared lie to her. With a dry mouth and a heavy tongue, he urged himself to speak.

"No, ma'am," he said, as his voice cracked and eyes burned with the tears that threatened to spill. McGonagall straightened her stance so that she was no longer eye level with him. Her lips returned to the thin line, her brow frowned, her square spectacles now slipping down the bridge of her nose as she looked down at him. Peter shrunk and blinked allowing the hot tears to fall silently down his cheeks.

Before McGonagall could speak however a puddle of ink seemed to explode splattering her green robes black. Her eyes shut and nostrils flared as every inch of her tensed. On the opposite side of the previous splatter, Peter saw a puddle of ink beginning to rise. He flinched and stepped back a fraction of an inch, knowing he could do nothing to stop it. The floating ink shot out suddenly and hit his professor, successfully covering her top half in black ink. Her eyes flashed open and her cheeks flushed.

"Stop it," McGonagall ordered firmly.

"I-" Peter began trying to explain that it wasn't him, that he had no idea what was happening but he didn't have a chance. A third puddle exploded, this time behind Professor McGonagall. She turned around whipping out her wand. She waved her wand in a sharp motion around the room and vanished the remaining ink and shards of broken glass.

In one swift motion, Peter felt the rush of air from a swooshing cloak, a heavy calloused hand clasp over his mouth, and James Potter's breath on his face shushing his startled cry into silence.

"Mr Pettigrew?" McGonagall called out firmly after she turned back around and no doubt found that he had disappeared. James guided him backwards, toward the stone steps, barely missing the tips of McGonagall's outstretched fingers feeling the air where Peter once stood. The bannister of the staircase prodded his back and startled him back to his senses.

"Sirius is still in the Slytherin's dungeon," he whispered so low it was a wonder James was able to hear him.

"No, he's not. Go." James urged him forward, up the steps. Relief washed over him. He had not completely failed his friends. The only thing he had to worry about was himself. How the hell was he supposed to get out of detention after that?


	22. Cake Wars

And so it transpired in the week that followed: Remus never got caught, though there was some slight suspicion when news of James and Lily pranking the Hufflepuffs got out. They received a week's detentions each writing lines with Professor Sprout. Peter served three detentions with Filch polishing trophies for his conduct in the Entrance Hall. While he may have been in James's black book for getting his broom confiscated until the next Quidditch match, thus being forced to use the school's ancient Clean Sweeps at practice, it was nothing compared to what Sirius faced during that week.

It seemed that around every corner, behind every door there was an angry Slytherin hell-bent on obtaining their revenge for their one night of poor sleep. Worst of all he knew who to blame for spreading the word throughout the house. The one person he'd never raise a wand against. Why else would he be their only target when he had an accomplice? So he spent the week battling only those who were in his face, ignoring the bigger problem, sulking, growing quieter and broodier as each day past. What he needed was a distraction - a Gryffindor type, colossal sized, Potter extravaganza - that much was agreed upon. Everything was set in stone ten minutes before breakfast in the Common Room exactly one week later.

Sirius stumbled into the Common Room looking for his friends, unbeknownst and therefore completely surprised when he got a face full of funfetti. The room filled with loud noisemakers and shouts of, "Happy Birthday!"

Sirius chuckled, wiping his face clean on his sleeve. "It's not my birthday."

"We couldn't do it on your actual birthday," James grinned, taking a defensive stance, knowing what was sure to come. "It wouldn't have been a surprise."

Without bothering to respond, Sirius bent, grabbed a large chunk of cake that had fallen to the floor, and threw it hitting James squarely in the chest. They charged and collided and rolled and threw getting cake and frosting everywhere. Lily and Eilidh jumped up onto a table to avoid the mess.

"When they sent us to the kitchen to get the cake I didn't think he was going to throw it at him," Eilidh laughed.

Lily shook her head and smiled as she watched Peter build a barricade of couch cushions to avoid James's and Sirius's attacks. "Do you think they'll ever stop surprising us?"

"Learn to expect the unexpected," Remus advised before sneaking up behind Peter to stuff a fist full of frosting down the back of his shirt. Peter shrieked and writhed away from Remus. James and Sirius laughed then moved their attention away from Peter to Remus.

"Potter!" Alice Prewett - the 6th year prefect and Frank's secret girlfriend - stomped forward, looking irritated but thoroughly amused.

James stepped behind Sirius, threw a fist full of mush over his head, and politely gave Alice his full attention. "Yes, Prefect Alice."

"You promised you wouldn't make a mess," Alice said, waving her wand to block Peter's ill-aimed cake.

"Oh," James shrugged, smiling sincerely at her. "I lied."

Alice rolled her eyes, stepped up onto the coffee table between James and Sirius and Remus and Peter, waved her wand again and all things froze; Peter behind Remus licking frosting off of one of his fingers, Remus approaching James with both frosting covered hands outstretched, James about to jump for the last bit of solid cake, Sirius with his eyes wide and panting.

"Holy shit," Sirius breathed, his lips twitching into a smile. Alice, paying no mind to his comment, waved her wand over him making him once again clean.

"Happy Birthday Sirius," Alice smiled.

"Thanks," Sirius muttered, his eyes still examining his frozen friends.

"The girls and I got you a present but you'll have to wait for tonight for it," she told him.

"You didn't - what about tonight?" Sirius asked thoroughly confused about why Alice would ever get him a present and why he had to wait for tonight. His eyes flashed to Lily and Eilidh still cowering on the table now looking slightly panicked as they shook their heads wildly at Alice.

"We're just putting the finishing touches on it, that's all," she smiled tightly and before he could ask any more questions she jabbed her wand at the frozen three. James hit the floor, Remus dropped his arms looking quite relieved, and Peter wiped his hands down the front of jeans, his cheeks pink. "This is the Common Room not your dormitory. You'll have to clean some of this up before you go to breakfast. I'll send a house elf up to do most of it but please clean up the big stuff. Sirius, you're pardoned of course."

The portrait swung shut behind Alice and immediately Sirius rounded on his friends.

"What have you done?" he demanded in exasperation.

"I wanted to call it 'Cake Wars', but Remus said it was our 'Birthday Tradition'," Peter answered, accepting the rag James handed to him.

"I'm talking about tonight," Sirius rolled his eyes and turned to Remus and James. "What have you done tonight?"

"How can we have done something tonight when it's only -" Remus stopped to check his wristwatch "- 7:30 exactly? We'd better hurry if we don't want to miss breakfast."

"We'll help," Lily said, jumping down from the table avoiding the splotches of frosting as best she could.

"James, you're being awfully quiet," Sirius observed, crossing his arms and staring at James, who refused to meet his eyes as he scrubbed away at the carpet.

"I know it's your birthday but could you be a mate and help? Like Remus said, it's breakfast and I'm starving," James said after a heavy moment's pause. Sirius marched over, ripped the rag from his hands, and forced James to look at him. "Alright! Guess the cat's out of the bag anyway." James sighed as he got to his feet. "We're throwing a party for you. The whole house is coming."

The room seemed to freeze again as they waited for Sirius's reaction.

"Every year I tell you I don't want to do anything for my birthday," Sirius spoke in a voice of measured calm which somehow seemed worse.

"Right. And every year we don't really do anything for your birthday. But this year is going to be different because birthdays are important and…" James trailed off, not really knowing what else to say.

"And you're important, Sirius," Lily finished for him and James nodded in agreement. Sirius breathed one long heavy breath out as he looked at the floor.

"The entire house?" he asked sounding like he didn't quite believe it.

"Yup. Everyone said they were coming and they've all put their own touches on it," James smirked, growing excited again.

"Please tell me you didn't invite anyone else," Sirius implored seeming to have one particular person in mind.

"Well, did you have anyone else you wanted us to invite?" James shrugged awkwardly his eyes flashed to each of his friends.

"James, I need you to say -"

"We didn't," Eilidh announced. Sirius's stomach squirmed as he very slowly turned to look at her. They hadn't exactly talked since… Halloween nor had he told anyone what happened between them. "After Halloween, we didn't know if you would want us to. We were gonna ask you today -"

"Indirectly," James quickly added.

"Right. And then go from there…. So?" Eilidh watched him warily.

Feeling the weight of all five of their steady gazes on him, he turned away and used the rag he stole from James to help clean. "I just don't think it's a good idea after what happened," he muttered, focusing more on his working hands than the pit in his stomach.

"Fine. So Evans, when's your birthday?" James asked, quickly changing the subject much to Sirius's relief.

"I don't have one," Lily replied coolly. "Especially if this is your 'Birthday Tradition'."

"Everyone has a birthday," James explained looking at Lily like she was absolutely ridiculous for not knowing.

"Not me," Lily smirked.

"It was the aliens wasn't it?" James mused.

"Exactly," she winked. Lily Evans just winked at James Potter. That was definitely an excuse to have a party.

Thousands of fairies lit the field, trapped by the bubble that muffled the noise so the professors wouldn't wake up and put an end to their fun. Gabe Pevensie and his band played mediocre covers of rock songs while they danced on the Quidditch goal posts. There were more than a few students from other houses, but that was expected when they invited the entirety of Gryffindor - word was bound to get out.

Sirius was having fun. Gabe's amplified voice singing over his slightly offbeat bassist echoed so loudly throughout the stadium that Sirius did not have to think about anything he didn't want to. The butterbeer calmed his nerves and the salted snacks gave him something to do with his hands as he chatted with two girls -one blonde and around his year the other was a seventh year with bright red hair and a face full of freckles.

James and Peter were huddled around one of the many floating jars of fire with Lily, Mary, and Marlene. James was obviously telling a story; he was pulling a one man show beaming when Lily laughed heartily. Remus was not too far off, talking with a group of Ravenclaws which Sirius thought was rather ballsy.

"Sirius, can I steal you for a mo?" Eilidh had come out of nowhere, interrupting the girls he was talking to - the blonde of which seemed particularly affronted. Eilidh simply grinned at her. "Lily and I want to give you our gift."

"When you say things like that how could I possibly say no?" Sirius smirked, ignoring his flipping stomach and suddenly sweaty palms.

"Don't stay away for too long," the blonde called while the other tried to pull her away. Sirius smiled over his shoulder and waved.

"I hope they didn't make you too miserable," Eilidh said conversationally but there was obvious humour in her corked eyebrows and smirking lips.

"They were nice," Sirius answered trying to avoid trodding on people's' feet as they walked by a group of dancers. "Do you know them?"

"Althea's my cousin and the blonde she tutors for extra credit," Eilidh answered, peering over another group trying to wave someone over. "She's Professor Haas's niece." She turned and led them over to where James and Lily were. Sirius reached out and gripped her forearm so they wouldn't separate in the crowd.

James and Lily had for whatever reason moved. They were now on the outskirts and no longer huddled around a warm mason jar of fire. Lily was shivering and curled into James's side with his arm pulled around her shoulder, her cheeks and nose pink from the cold. Mary and Marlene shared Peter's coat while Peter stood shivering with his hands in his pockets trying not to look cold.

"Did you not find Josie?" Lily asked as they approached.

"She's right behind me, where's Remus?" Eilidh asked looking around.

"Oh, right. Pete, go and get him," James ordered with a jerk of his head, obviously not wanting to break contact with Lily.

Peter threw his head back and yelled, "REMUS!"

The girls all laughed. Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes. James grumbled, looked back at the party searching for a second, and pointed his wand taking special care to aim. A moment later they heard a distinct yelp over the noisy crowd and music. James laughed then took a deep breath and forced himself to look completely neutral.

"Did you just aim a stinging curse at my bum, you absolute -" Remus hissed, rubbing his backside.

"Butt waffle!" James interrupted firmly, pointing his finger at Remus's chest as if to remind him not to use foul language in front of children.

"Not exactly my choice of insult but I always thought Lily was too nice for you," Remus insinuated, eyeing Lily who was now blushing into James's chest.

"Enough squabbling! I'm freezing," Marlene whined, her teeth chattering as she moved closer to Mary.

"You heard her Remus, go warm her up," James teased, lightly pushing Remus toward Marlene.

"I should probably remain available. Lily might get bored with you," Remus winked at Lily while James smiled but his eyes narrowed slightly. Remus smiled at him innocently.

"Where on earth is Josie?" Lily asked, using the excuse to step out from under James's arm. James stuffed his hands into his pockets and scowled at Remus. "Thank heavens! She's coming with heat," Lily sighed.

Josie was indeed approaching with a jar of deliciously warm fire being guided by her wand. "Right,' Josie said. "Let's make this quick. People are gonna come looking for this." Everyone took a needy step forward as Josie guided the jar into the middle of their sloppily formed circle.

"Okay, first we need to swear everyone to secrecy," Eilidh started, looking intensely more excited now that everyone was present.

"Come on, Nicnevin! It's like you don't trust us," James smirked.

"This present involves something that only the five of us know about," Marlene defended, her hands just shy of touching the jar.

"And letting you four know is a bit of a risk for us," Mary agreed, her eyes staring directly at the four boys in turn.

"You just have to swear not to tell anyone about any of this and to not use it so often that Filch catches wind of it," Lily said seriously but she was bouncing impatiently on the balls of her feet.

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter looked at each other and seemed to be thinking the same thing. It was a risk to be sworn to secrecy with so little information - they could be trying to prank them which would doubtlessly be embarrassing. The curiosity burned so fiercely inside them that they hardly cared so James spoke with his right hand over his heart and his left hand raised. "We do so solemnly swear."

It was the girls turn to share a look after which each of them nodded. Lily then reached into her pocket, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to Sirius.


	23. Crossing the Threshold

Marlene was the only one who could possibly know the entirety of their situation (as far as Eilidh could tell. She didn't know if Sirius had told anyone.) In fact, this whole thing was practically Marlene's idea. "Make him see you can still be friends," she had said. Eilidh took her advice to heart. It was difficult though when Sirius rarely looked at her voluntarily anymore and only spoke using so many words. So, she composed this plan.

At first, it seemed to work. Breakfast the next morning was spent giving vague answers to the boys' many questions.

"Exactly how many charms did you use?" Sirius asked the minute he sat down next to her (close enough to feel his body heat) in the Great Hall.

"Enough," she answered, not skipping a beat.

"You better not have used a Permanent Sticking Charm," he warned.

"Would that be fair?" she asked with a coy smirk as Sirius scowled at her over his cereal giving her a small amount of hope.

His mood changed though when Muggle Studies came and they were alone. Eilidh had walked in and taken her usual place in the left centre of the room. Sirius had turned to look at her over his shoulder with the hint of a smirk on his face, opened his mouth to stutter out half of a syllable, licked his lips, then turned back around, returning to his indifferent manner. As sad as it was, it was more than what she had been getting - usually, she just got a head nod or, on good days, a partial wave. Still, she repeatedly had to remind herself that after Hogsmeade things would be normal again.

Eilidh was quite surprised to see how long it took them to open the envelope. Three days after the party, the Gryffindor girls received a rude awakening in the middle of the night by a loud, wailing, klaxon-like sound. Startled, she pulled her covers up to her shoulders causing Marlene's cat to leap off her bed and cast a disdainful look over his shoulder. It took a brief second before she realized that a boy had tried to enter the girls' dormitories.

"Let the prefects take care of it," Eilidh muttered after hearing Josie jump out of bed. She settled back down on her pillow and was almost asleep again when there was a knock at the door. Eilidh groaned, sat up, and lit her wand.

Andrea Kim, the Head Girl, entered the room after Lily's shouted, "Come in!" looking less than pleased.

"Will one of you please go down there and get them to go to bed!" Andrea begged.

"Who?" Mary asked.

"The boys in your year - Potter and them." Andrea waved her hand dismissively and swooped out, not waiting for an answer.

Josie grumbled, unintelligibly, and pulled her covers over her head.

"I've had to deal with their pestering all Quidditch practice," Marlene said stubbornly, turning over so her face was in her pillow.

"Potter," Lily groaned, throwing herself back down on her bed.

"I'll go," Eilidh sighed rather than hear the rest of their arguments.

It was rather funny to see how frustrated the boys got.

"Seriously! This is it?" James shouted, brandishing the note at her before she had even stepped foot into the common room. Eilidh forced herself not to laugh.

"What?" she asked, trying (and failing) to sound innocent.

"What?" James repeated in a high mocking voice.

"The one-eyed witch at 10 o'clock! What does that even mean?" Peter asked, over James's angry muttering and stomping. In order to keep her stoic composure, Eilidh forced herself to look away from James's dramatic antics.

"The statue on the third floor, the one everyone used to say was haunted-"

"We know! What does it mean?" Sirius demanded, flailing his arms and collapsing into an armchair, without looking at her.

Eilidh's throat felt constricted when she answered, "that we - that is the girls and I would like to meet the four of you on Saturday at 10 o'clock by the statute. That was all in the note."

"For three days we've been trying to open that thing! We've hardly slept!" James said, sounding shrill. Eilidh had to bite her cheek to prevent her laughter. "Don't tell me that's all we're getting!"

"One," Eilidh said as she held up one finger, "it's for Sirius. Two," she continued, adding another, "it's not all he's getting. Obviously, we have something planned."

"We know that. James meant, is that the only information we're going to get?" Remus said, calmly.

"After three days of torture and no sleep," James added indignantly. "And it's a Hogsmeade weekend! You're going to make us miss Hogsmeade?"

"Trust me. It'll be worth it," Eilidh told him, which earned her a glare. She turned back to Remus. "You need to wear Muggle clothes on Saturday and we'll need your brooms. That's all you're getting."

"Peter got my broom kidnapped," James said as if to say 'ha ha, your plan failed.'

"That won't be a problem," Eilidh said confidently before moving to return to her dormitory. "We'll need your brooms by tomorrow night."

Their brooms were delivered via a very large package carried by three of the school's owls at breakfast on Friday. It cost Eilidh 5 galleons and a million questions to borrow her brother Lucas's broom for James. No one wanted to ride with him.

"He's a classic backseat driver," Lily had said.

"He could drive!" Eilidh desperately tried to argue. 5 galleons were hard to come by.

"There are easier ways to die!"

So, she paid the 5 galleons, dodged Lucas's questions, and added a box of Fizzing Whizbees to ensure his silence. Then, hours before sunrise on Saturday morning, she and Mary snuck into Hogsmeade through the tunnel under the one-eyed witch.

That had been difficult for Eilidh. For the entire year she hadn't even looked at the statue; when queued up for Charms she looked determinedly pasted it or immersed herself with some form of distraction, other times she avoided that corridor completely. She had used that passage only four times before, in her third year. Her father sometimes had business in the city. He'd stay for the weekend and she'd sneak out on Saturday mornings to meet her father outside of Hogsmeade village. They'd spend the day in the city together and she'd be back before dinner. All four of her dorm mates knew about it - she had brought them with her once. It was no doubt because of this that Mary filled their silence with an endless stream of mindless chatter. Part of her was grateful for it. It was definitely easier to walk through the passageway and sneak in and out of Honeydukes without having memories flood her mind. Another part of her longed for silence, so she could think about those memories that had become so painful.

Mary's distraction, though well intended, only made things worse come Saturday afternoon. Being the most familiar with the passage under the one-eyed witch, Eilidh led the group with her wand held lit over her head so she could clearly see the path in front of her. And though some memories were able to slip through causing her eyes to sting slightly with the threat of tears, she focused determinedly on each footstep on the uneven ground, the sound of Remus's haggard breathing (hoping that the exercise and the waxing moon wasn't putting too much of a strain on him), her friends squealing every time they saw a worm, Marlene telling them to "grow some ovaries," and James and Lily talking behind the group.

"How did you know it was Filch who was coming for us? You seemed pretty sure of yourself," Lily commented.

"That's what Code Berk means, Evans," James answered.

"I got that, but how did Peter know that it was a 'Code Berk'?" Lily pressed.

"He's become rather clairvoyant since he's taken up Divinations," James explained. Lily snorted, but James continued. "Seriously! You should hear the dream he had about us."

"If you tell me he dreamt we were married with six kids, living in a cottage in the countryside where we grow old and die together, I will turn you into a worm and leave you here where no one will ever be able to find you," Lily threatened, sounding serious.

"Actually, we had a house in Westminster with four children," James corrected, completely unabashed. "Lily Jr., Lily the second, Lily the third, and James Sirius Remus Peter Potter. They all had your eyes."

"I prefer the country," Lily said simply.

"You'd have to with six children. Imagine the noise! And the expense," James said, not convincing anyone with his pessimistic words.

"Don't blame the children for the noise; we both know that'll be your doing. And as long as you get a job with long hours we won't have to worry about the expense… or my sanity." Lily smirked when James clutched his chest and gasped in faux offence still unable to hide his grin.

Saturday proved to be the perfect day for flying undetected. The sky was cloudy and grey with the threat of snow. Marlene had brought extra jumpers for everyone, assuming correctly that they would forget to bundle up. The boys' frustration seemed at ease now that they had rested. In fact, they seemed excited. Eilidh even caught Sirius gazing around curiously at the countryside.

"You know, when you asked for our brooms, I thought we'd be flying at some point," James told her conversationally, though there was an impatient edge to his tone.

Eilidh rolled her eyes but didn't even look back at him when she said, "We're almost there, stop complaining." It was the same thing she said half an hour ago when they came to the stile at the end of the lane, but this time they really were almost there. She could see the tree that marked a small fissure in the rocks where she and Mary had hidden their brooms hours before.

"It's right there!" Mary announced, rushing forward causing the rest of them to break out in a run.

"And what do you use this place for, Evans?" James asked once they had reached the tree.

"Tea parties," Lily smiled. She was rather enjoying seeing them struggle with not knowing something. "Just remember you've been sworn to secrecy," Lily warned.

"You know we're actually breaking the law by doing this," Josie said as if the idea had suddenly struck her. She had said the same thing when Eilidh had brought her out last year and was probably about to start lecturing about truancy.

"It's official, we're in," Remus grinned.

"How exactly did you get our brooms here?" Sirius asked curiously, having found the fissure in the rocks.

"You have your secrets; I have mine," Eilidh said evasively, moving forward to start handing out the brooms.

"Now can we know where we're going?" Peter asked impatiently.

"I thought it'd be obvious by now," Marlene smirked, taking her broom in hand.

"You already know where we're going," Mary said fairly, leaning against the tree next to Josie.

Eilidh called James forward, holding out Luke's broom, but when James made to grab it, she pulled slightly away. "This is my brother's broom. Break it and I'll hex you into oblivion."

"Please! I think James Potter knows how to properly handle a broom," James smirked, snatching the broom out of her hands.

"I think James Potter needs to stop referring to himself in the third person," Sirius muttered, finding his own broom.

"James Potter thinks Sirius Black needs to stop being a-"

"We," Eilidh said loudly, successfully stopping James's insult, "are the only ones who know where we're going at this point so you four need to follow us. It's important that we stay close together, keep our eyes peeled for You-Know-Who, and keep high enough so the Muggles at least mistake us for birds."

"There's no need to be so optimistic, Eilidh," Remus said, looking slightly concerned.

"We're not going to run into anything dangerous, least of all You-Know-Who," Lily said, calming the tension that had risen.

"We might," Eilidh sang (specifically addressing Josie), as she skipped past the rocks that hid the village from the Muggle world.

"This is truancy. Which is a serious offence! Our parents'll be fined and we'll be expelled," Josie said, giving everyone their last chance to turn back.

"We'll be fine Jo. We'll be back before Hagrid orders his first bucket of Meade," Lily smiled, slightly pushing Josie urging her to follow the rest of them.

Without looking back to see if she would follow, Eilidh took flight. In a tightly formed group, they flew higher, aiming for the clouds. With every foot towards the heavens, every care Eilidh had for the world fell and by the time she passed through the dark grey storm clouds she was soaking and weightless, her chest filled with nothing but blissful excitement.

"Woohooo!" James, shrieked on her left, pulling his broom into a skilful loop. It was a wonder why no one wanted to ride with him. Sirius, who was on her right and close enough to touch, seemed to feel as peacefully she did. The tension that marked his face since Halloween was finally gone. His eyes were focused on James as a mischievous smirk played on his lips. For a split second, he caught her eye, grinned, then ducked out of sight only to pop up again on James's other side, startling him enough to swerve.

They didn't seem to mind the cold at all, even as their lips turned blue, Eilidh's hands felt like they might have been frozen to her broom handle, and Marlene (who had taken Sirius's place on her right,) was visibly shaking. It took only a little over ten minutes for them to reach their destination where they dived down as fast as they could, the street lights ablur, into an alley in the very heart of the city.

Once landed, James and Sirius magically dried themselves and ran out of the alley, instantly enticed by the people performing on the street. Jugglers, people with skillfully trained dogs, musicians rendering their instruments almost past their capacity while the artists were only beginning to reach their full potential.

"Right," Marlene said, after drying everyone else in turn, "Where to first?"

"Anywhere and everywhere! The city is ours," Eilidh grinned, double checking that their brooms were fully covered by the rubbish.

"So..uh..any requests?" Mary asked, looking around.

"There." Sirius pointed to the giant record shaped sign belonging to a shop across the street and stepped into the road.

"They should see the Joke Shop," Lily declared, already heading in the opposite direction, not realising where Sirius had gone.

"I wanna see that!" James said, scurrying to catch up with Lily.

"But I'm hungry. Couldn't we eat first?" We're usually in the Three Broomsticks by now," Peter moaned, following James.

"Oh! There's this really good cafe not far from here," Mary said skipping off, pulling Peter by the hand.

"Oi!" Eilidh called after them, irritably. Sirius hadn't realised that none of them had followed. Unfortunately, no one turned at her call.

"How about we all meet Mary and Peter in the cafe?" Marlene suggested. "You keep Black out of trouble and Josie and I'll take Remus… um- There's a used bookstore on the next street, how's that sound?"

"Erm…" Remus turned to Eilidh, looking for a reaction but Eilidh was too busy glaring at the grinning Marlene to notice.

"Great. We'll see you at the cafe, then?" Josie asked.

"Fine. We'll pick up Lily on the way," Eilidh grumbled before sprinting to catch up with Sirius.

Sirius was already elbowed deep in one of the crates by the time she entered the shop, his eyes flickering over every album cover, pausing momentarily at an interesting looking one, but only one caught his interest enough for him to pull it out to look at the back. Iggy Pop, shirtless, clutching his microphone stand, staring out at the crowd, his skin illuminating red while the rest of the cover was black. It was an iconic album that she knew well. It was Lily's favourite and she had played it until her needle broke.

"Lily has that one. She'll let you borrow it if you ask," Eilidh told him. Sirius jumped at her voice.

"Where are the others?" he asked, dropping the record back in its place.

"They spread out," she shrugged. "You should try The Runaways if you don't mind girl groups or American bands." Eilidh moved to where the owners had marked the R's and started digging. Sirius abandoned his crate and chose the one next to hers.

It amused her to see how much care he took in choosing an album. If one caught his interest, he'd quickly scan the front, read the back in detail, then back to the front again, his eyes moving from top to bottom with the amount of concentration Josie reserved for her books or James for the Quidditch field. It was even worse when he started a conversation with the store's owner; every answer he received seemed to only spark another question. It was an hour before Sirius finally found his selection. Eilidh waited patiently by the door, swinging her plastic bag at her side, watching Sirius with a smile on his face as he finished his conversation with the owner.

"Did you wanna go somewhere?" Sirius asked, once he finally broke away.

"Yeah, but we've got to catch up with other's first," Eilidh said, leading him out the door.

"Well, I think I found my new favourite shop," Sirius said. She was partially surprised that he was carrying on a conversation with her.

"You don't have a good record store at home?" Eilidh asked, her chest bubbling with excitement.

"I don't get out much at home." Sirius shrugged then after a brief moment said, "Thanks for bringing me here," looking at her sideways, smiling, his body leaning toward her almost to playfully nudge her.

"Of course," she grinned. "It's your birthday; I had to do something."

"So, we're still celebrating my birthday?" Sirius asked, walking backwards to look her square in the eye. Eilidh's stomach suddenly started squirming.

"Er- yeah, sure," she answered, apprehensive about what the consequences might be.

"Then I'd like to make a request," Sirius said, full of confidence and enthusiasm in a manner she had not seen from him in weeks.

"Ask and you shall receive," she vowed, her nerves taking a backseat to the thrill she got from his suddenly normal behaviour.

"Total honesty," Sirius said his voice still confident but he stared directly ahead of him and his pace grew suddenly swift and hard to keep up with. "To be fair I'll play along too. So, we can ask each other anything and our answers have to be one-hundred percent, totally, and completely honest no matter what the other person might feel or think."

"Risky, I like it." She grinned despite the pit in her stomach. What was he going to ask?

"You go first," Sirius said.

"But it's your birthday," Eilidh insisted.

"Exactly, you go first."

Eilidh sighed heavily and slowed her pace to a casual stroll forcing him to match her steps. She didn't know what to ask him so she just said, "What's your favourite number?"

"Seriously?" he asked, Eilidh shrugged. "Alright. Um… 22."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess it just seems like a good age," Sirius said. "And that was two questions, so I get two."

"Fair enough," Eilidh nodded.

Sirius thought for a moment, gazing at the crowd as if in search of inspiration. "Why'd you bring me here?"

"Erm… I don't - I don't know," Eilidh's stomach twisted. This was something she really didn't want to explain. "You just seemed like you could do with a bit of fun… Halloween seemed pretty stressful for you." That could have been referring to anything; his brother, that fight, the chase, their "moment."

"Nah, I should have expected that. It was pretty standard actually… Well except for …. Okay, question two," Sirius took a deep breath then smiled forcefully. "Why'd you kiss me?"

Eilidh's stomach dropped. Her heartbeat sped up dangerously. Her head spun making her thoughts incomprehensible. She could feel her eyes growing large. She swallowed before forcing herself to speak. "I- To get away from the Slytherins. People look away too quickly when they see people snogging; it was the simplest conclusion."

"And that's it?" Sirius asked, his voice suddenly hard. "Total honesty?"

Eilidh's heart rose to her throat. In the heat of the moment, it did seem like the simplest conclusion. But if she were honest with herself, there had to have been a small sub-conscious ulterior motive that had made her feel guiltier for the past few weeks.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Huh?"

"You got all quiet and you look angry," Sirius explained, watching her with such scrutiny it made her blush. Sirius stepped in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder so she wouldn't run into him. "Answer the question," he ordered.

"I did," she said shrilly.

"Not completely," Sirius argued.

Eilidh groaned irritably and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "What question did I not answer?" She looked determinedly in his face, allowing her irritation with him for the past weeks to take over. He didn't even flinch at her scowl and it only proved to make things worse.

"Do you fancy me?" he asked, his voice at least an octave higher than usual.

"You never asked that," Eilidh answered, refusing to blush and forcing herself to keep eye contact.

"It was implied," Sirius said, sounding as irritated as she did.

"I thought we were doing total honesty, not implications," she said, stepping around him, dodging his outstretched hand, and walked as quickly as she could, but despite her efforts, Sirius kept up with her easily.

"Oh my God! You fancy me!" he practically screamed. Eilidh, despite herself, laughed at his excitement. She bit her lip so she wouldn't be caught smiling. "You have to admit it; that's the point of the game."

"I fancy you," Eilidh said through gritted teeth, unable to deny that shit-eating grin on his face even if she tried.

"Thank you. Next question-"

"No," she said sternly, stepping in front of him and stopping him with her hand on his chest. He looked shocked but didn't push her away which she took as a good sign. "You only had two questions and you've asked three - it's my turn."

"Ask away," he said smugly.

"Why are you such a prat?"

"Why do you fancy me if you think I'm a prat?"

"You can't answer my questions with another question."

"I can when they're not real questions."

She glared at him with her face burning. Though she put up an angry front, she knew it was only because she was embarrassed by her confession.

Sirius took a step closer to her and said softly, "perhaps you'd like to ask if I fancy you too?"

"I can choose my own questions," Eilidh snapped. She crossed her arms and threw herself against the nearest wall, glaring at the passing cars. She really did want to know if he fancied her, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction, especially when he was already being so smug. Sirius leaned against the wall next to her with his hands in his pockets, looking patient and serene. "Why'd you stop talking to me after we kissed?" she asked finally.

"I didn't stop talking to you," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Fine, why'd you get weird then," she corrected.

Sirius shrugged. "Because it was weird. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how… if you - what you wanted so I just… I don't know, it seems stupid now."

"It wasn't stupid, it was just annoying," Eilidh told him.

"Yeah, well. I'm not a mind reader. You could have done something," Sirius argued.

"I did when I kissed you," she said slowly.

"Right. Can I ask my question now?" Sirius asked.

"No, it's still my turn."

"Fine."

Eilidh breathed deeply and took a long moment to prepare herself. "Do you wish I hadn't kissed you?"

"Erm…." It was awhile before Sirius answered. Eilidh stayed determinedly silent, wrestling with the decision to take back her question. She could practically see the wheels turning in Sirius's head as he gazed blankly at a potted plant across from them. "I wish it had been under different circumstances, and my ego wishes I had been the one to do the kissing but that's it," he admitted, sounding sure.

Eilidh nodded, accepting the relief that washed over her. It wasn't the best answer but it was better than she was expecting.

"Okay… now… what's your favourite colour?" she asked, simply because she couldn't think of another question. Sirius laughed heartily then shook his head.

"Alright, get ready for something almost as cliché as your question," Sirius said, stepping into the middle of the pavement, striking a pose like he was about to give a dramatic speech.

"If you say black, I'll take everything back," Eilidh warned. Sirius grinned.

"It's purple," he said simply.

"Total honesty?" she asked, slightly taken aback. They began to stroll again, suddenly realizing how much time had passed from when they had last seen the rest of the group. Sirius nodded, now trying to hide his smile. "You were making fun of my cliché question," she accused.

"It was embarrassingly cliché. I'm a bit disappointed in you," he admitted, holding back a laugh with obvious effort.

"Fine, but why purple?"

"Why do you ask why so much?" he challenged. Eilidh pursed her lips, indicating that it was still her turn. "Because it's calm and exciting, depending on the shade," he answered with a sigh.

"So, you like all spectrums of purple?" Eilidh asked. They had reached the shop Lily had taken James, in fact, they could see them through the display window. Reluctantly, Eilidh reached for the door, wondering if things were really repaired between them or if it would all revert once they were inside.

"You know," Sirius pulled her arm back just before she had grabbed the door handle and forced her to face him, "you've asked like fifty questions. I'd say it's my turn."

"Yeah, I guess," Eilidh said. Sirius's stubborn determination made her nervous. He glanced into the shop window then pulled her out of its frame.

"Do you wanna go to Hogsmeade?" he asked so quickly his words almost strung together. "I mean with me. Like on -" he groaned rather than finish question. Eilidh couldn't believe her ears. Sirius couldn't possibly be asking her on a date while standing between a joke shop and a sporting goods store on this random busy street in a random Scottish city. Sirius took one deep, slow, steady breath then started again. "Do you, Eilidh, want to go on a date with me next Hogsmeade weekend?"

"Does total honesty apply to these questions as well?" Eilidh asked. She never thought of Sirius as insincere but the past few weeks had put so much of a strain on her this outcome seemed too good to be true.

"Mate, you already had the opportunity to ask if I fancied you," he answered, his lips twitching almost to a full smile but quickly became focused again, "but yes."

"Okay," Eilidh said softly, afraid of speaking above a whisper in case he could tell that she was holding in a scream. She crossed her arms so he wouldn't see her hands trembling with excitement.

"Okay as in yes? Because it'd be really weird if you fancied me but refused to go on a date with me," Sirius said, speaking in a rush.

"Oh, yeah, sorry yes," Eilidh stopped herself, knowing she was about to start rambling and took a deep breath. "Yes, I'll go with you to Hogsmeade… on a date."

"Cool," he nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Eilidh could have sworn he was grinning when he ducked his head which caused Eilidh to smile. Sirius looked back up, caught her eye, and they burst into giggles at the sheer awkwardness of it all. "We should-" Sirius pointed at the Joke Shop window.

"Right, before they start looking for us," Eilidh nodded, suddenly feeling nervous. A thought had occurred to her. While their current friendship was going well, the tension between James and Lily was very real. In the beginning, her friendship with James had even caused a small strife between her and Lily. She wondered how she would react to this news. "Hey," Eilidh touched Sirius's arm before he could venture further into the store, "you'll let me tell Lily, right?"

"As long as you'll let me tell, James," Sirius smirked, though it seemed less confident than usual. Eilidh nodded with an understanding smile, moments before James rushed up to her.

"Hey, watch out!" James reached out and grabbed her shoulder, sending a shockwave through her arm that seemed to be caused by a loud buzzing from his hand. Eilidh yelped, in both surprise and pain, and flinched away while James chuckled. He slung an arm over Sirius and pressed his hand into his chest, issuing another loud buzz. "Tell me what, Pickles?"

"Merlin's-" Sirius pushed his arm off, "how much of an idiot you are!"

"Oh, really?" James grinned, reaching his hands out threateningly.

"Yeah, we were just discussing it on the way over here." Sirius took a step back. "Where's Evans? You didn't kill her with that thing, did you?"

"Oh, no, the aliens got to her before I could," James smirked, stalking forward, pushing Sirius back into a corner, toward what appeared to be a mannequin with dark red hair wearing a green alien mask. That is before it jumped out and grabbed Sirius revealing itself to be a very alive Lily. Sirius jumped, turned away from both of them, then looked behind him to check for any more surprises. "Alight, in all seriousness, pun partially intended," Sirius rolled his eyes as James dug in his pocket, "happy birthday, mate." James held out a can labelled 'Jolly Good Jelly Beans.' Sirius eyed it suspiciously.

"It's not going to turn me into a toad, or turn my hair blue, or make me talk in pig Latin for a week?" he questioned.

"Mate, we're in a Muggle store," James whispered, stretching his arm out further. It all seemed rather innocent until Eilidh saw Lily watching them with a glint in her eye and an excited smile. Sirius took the can reluctantly and seemed rather relieved when nothing happened. "Those were good ideas though, keep them in mind for-" Eilidh cleared her throat, hoping he wouldn't say anything about Snape. James did seem to stutter before finishing with, "the next time we prank Remus and Peter."

"Remus would look good as a toad," Sirius grinned.

"Right? You should open that up, I'm starving," James said, clutching his stomach.

"You'd make me share my birthday present?" Sirius asked, obviously playing for time.

"Good friends share, Sirius," Lily said, smirking. Sirius sighed and began twisting the lid of the can. Eilidh took a step back, her imagination running wild. Being in a Muggle store wouldn't stop James from charming the can when he thought no one was looking. Sirius pulled the lid off and a cloth covered spring jumped out.

"Wow, looked what popped out of this totally inconspicuous can," Sirius said blandly while trying to stuff the spring back in.

"Eh, we should have waited," James told Lily, looking a bit disappointed.

"It's alright, he could always give it to Regulus," Lily grinned at Sirius.

"That would be funny," Sirius chuckled, finally getting the lid back on.

All four of them stared at each other for a moment. The moment got rather awkward so Eilidh spoke quickly, "I told Marlene that'd we'd meet her and Mary at the cafe."

"Ah, yes. Peter and Mary… skipping off to the cafe… holding hands," James said, staring at Eilidh and Lily like they were supposed to understand something.

"Er, yeah they did. It's just up the street," Eilidh said slowly. James sighed and grumbled but strode out the door. Lily and Eilidh looked to Sirius for an explanation but he shrugged before following James out.

"You and Potter didn't kill each other," Eilidh remarked, walking a few paces behind the boys.

"He's actually nice when he's distracted and plotting against his friends," Lily smiled. Eilidh smirked at her, cocking an eyebrow. Lily nudged her with her shoulder. "Stop it. It's not like that. He's so…."

"Fun?" Eilidh offered, sounding casual so Lily couldn't possibly know the weight behind her words. Lily rolled her eyes and stared at the back of his head.

"Confusing," she sighed. Confusing was much better than 'arrogant weasel.'


	24. The Lunacy in their Schemes

With the same dark hair and sharp nose, it was undeniable that Sirius and Regulus were brothers. But where Regulus was solid, Sirius was brittle. Even though he was only in his second year, Regulus had a wide jaw and a friendly smile that enticed people to trust him, while Sirius wore a thin mouth and narrow eyes warning newcomers that he was dangerous.

Regulus followed the rules of high society and common courtesy to the letter. He remembered to swallow his food before speaking, to stand when a lady entered and left the room. He knew, by second nature, that when a close friend or family member came into town that you were supposed to make it a point to greet them. What he didn't know was why Sirius didn't understand this.

Sirius didn't know why Regulus cared so much about a distant relative he had only met once. He didn't understand why Regulus cared so much about people listening in to their heated argument by the doors of the Great Hall. He couldn't lower his voice even if he wanted to; he was too mad. Regulus had acted like what he had done on Halloween was nothing.

"You're still mad at me for that," Regulus had said indifferently. Sirius hated that when it came to important things like loyalty, Regulus didn't care, but Merlin forbid he ever miss lunch. "Honestly, what did you expect to happen? What would you have done if you had found some Slytherin creeping around your common room?"

"I'm not some Gryffindor, I'm your brother!" Sirius yelled, hoping that people would stare. "I would have had your back! At the very least I wouldn't have sicked the whole house on you!" His anger slowly started to dissipate as he heard his voice overpower those eating breakfast. He had gained an audience and Regulus was squirming under their watchful eyes.

"Keep your voice down," Regulus implored, sweeping his eyes once over the turned faces in the Hall.

"Why? You don't want anyone else knowing what a cowardly little prat you are?" And there it was, the flared nostrils, the twitching mouth, the white-knuckled fists. Sirius got a sick satisfaction in seeing his brother flushed with anger. Regulus glared at him, taking deliberately slow breaths as he tried to keep control. Sirius wondered what would happen if he pushed him just a little bit farther; maybe he'd wind up hitting him.

"Slughorn's dinner party is tomorrow. You can explain to Amoriel why you weren't there yesterday. In the meantime, write to Mum about it. I'm done making excuses for you," Regulus said irritatingly calmly. With one last hard look, he stepped past Sirius and made his way back to Slytherin's table.

"Fine!" Sirius shouted in a vain attempt to keep the argument going.

"Good!" Regulus called back, glancing over his shoulder but, to Sirius's disappointment, kept walking.

"Great!" Sirius said.

When Regulus didn't reply, he continued to glare at his receding form until he sat next to the kid he had introduced him to about two months before this, Barty Crouch Jr. From what Sirius had observed the name fit him perfectly: He truly was his father's junior in everything from appearance to his pompous attitude. He scathingly thought that he and his brother fit perfectly together.

"If I ever become that big of an arsehole, stupefy me," Sirius said to no one in particular as he sat back down next to Remus.

"Rematch, mate," James said, waving his wand to conjure two bottles of pumpkin juice from the kitchen on the table between them. Sirius grimaced. Before Regulus had interrupted them, he had barely been able to choke down half the bottle and his insides were already feeling slushy.

"What did Regulus want?" Remus asked conversationally but his expression was one of concern.

"Yeah, and why'd you call him a prat?" Peter asked, dropping the fork he was bringing to his mouth.

"A cowardly little prat, Pete. Don't diminish my skills at insulting people," Sirius corrected. He refilled his plate with various breakfast items, more out of the need to do something with his hands than out of hunger. James took out his wand again and this time pointed it at Sirius. "What are you doing?"

"You said if you ever started acting like a prat-"

"Not now, you idiot!" Sirius threw a now cold biscuit at him and it hit him in the face. Peter laughed but tried to hide it by taking a bite of food.

"That's just rude," James said, brushing the crumbs off his robes. Remus was gazing at Sirius expectantly, either waiting for an apology or was still expecting an answer.

"Oh, he just wanted to remind me that Slughorn's thing is tomorrow. And he wanted to know why I wasn't in Hogsmeade," Sirius said. He grabbed one of the bottles James had conjured and pressed its mouth to his lips to avoid any follow-up questions. He watched as James stood and called, "Pevensie!" before starting to gulp the juice down wildly, trying to catch up.

Sirius closed his eyes and relaxed his throat, allowing the juice to flow smoothly down. His stomach already felt like it would burst but he knew the faster he finished, the faster he could get out of the Hall and use being in class as an excuse to avoid Remus's questions. He coaxed himself to not taste the too sweet liquid, to not pay attention to the quickly forming crowd cheering either his or James's name nor to the pain now not only in his expanding stomach but in his bladder as well.

Sirius thought he was nearing the end of his bottle. Sure enough, after the flashing light of a camera, the last few drops hit his lips. Sirius stood, holding out his tongue and the bottle upside down to prove he had finished, and ran out of the Hall in search of the nearest toilet.

One hoarse but clear voice could be heard over the laughing and cheering crowd. "Wait!" the voice called out. Part of him knew he should be touched, but Remus's incessant concern only irritated him, so he didn't wait - he didn't even slow his pace. Only James was able to catch up with him. He wasn't bothered by this, James understood that sometimes family wasn't family, a concept that Remus had yet to grasp.

"Two galleons!" James panted, pushing his way into one of the stalls. "Pevensie only gave me two galleons because he said he gave me the other half the first time. Thing is, the first time he only gave me two galleons because you only finished half the bottle. So I drank two gallons of pumpkin juice for four galleons!"

"We'll get him back," Sirius said, listening to the haggard breathing coming from the doorway. He knew it was Remus and he rather reluctantly left the stall to wash his hands.

"Do - you - know… how close it is to the full moon?" gasped Remus standing hunched over with his hands on his knees.

"About a week," Sirius shrugged.

"Four days. Which means my lungs are starting to shrink. I can't go sprinting after you throughout the whole bloody castle," Remus said angrily, clutching a stitch in his side.

"I am fully capable of taking a piss by myself. You don't see Peter-" Sirius stopped mid-sentence hearing Peter's flat feet slapping against the stone floor of the corridor.

Seconds later he collided with the door frame opposite Remus, cherry faced and wheezing. He held up a small pouch of jingling money from Remus. "From Cresswell," he breathed. Remus nodded and stored the pouch in his pocket but not before James could see it.

"Where'd you get that?" he demanded.

"Dirk bet that you would choke on your pumpkin juice and squirt it out your nose. Then Frank and Gabe got in on it and well…." Remus shrugged, standing up straighter now and seemed to be breathing without difficulty.

"Wankers," James muttered, crossing over to the sink.

"To be fair, you did choke a lot. I was actually getting worried. That bet would have emptied my wallet," Remus said as he smirked at James's scowl. "Anyway, would you guys care if we missed half of our first class?"

"Would we ever?" Sirius asked, turning then leaned against the sink so he could look at Remus. He normally didn't condone skiving off lessons.

"It's History of Magic, mate. I wouldn't mind missing the entirety of it," James said, shaking his hands dry.

"Good. Let's go, there are only a few minutes before the bell." Remus turned on his heels and led them out of the castle, across the grounds, all the way to a small wooden house on the edge of the forest, whilst explaining that Hagrid sometimes let him hide out at his place when he didn't feel well enough to go to class.

"It's quiet enough for me to study and a lot more comfortable than the Hospital. Plus he tells some great stories. Terrible cook though," Remus said, knocking on Hagrid's door then added over the sound of a pup barking, "Don't eat the rock cakes."

"Quiet Fang! Come 'er," Hagrid grunted before opening the door. He was holding a small, squiggling, brown puppy in one of his large, dustbin sized hands. "Oh, hello Remus. Wasn' expectin' yer. Feelin' alrigh'?"

"Remus just ran a marathon and you know. His lungs," Sirius added in a whisper before Remus could answer for himself.

"They know," Remus explained, rolling his eyes at Sirius.

"Do they?" Hagrid eyed them suspiciously, almost threateningly- the effect was terrifying coming from a man so large.

"They're cool with it," Remus said. Hagrid, thankfully relaxed. "This is James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black. We were wondering if you could tell us about some of the creatures we will - I mean could find in the forbidden forest."

"Er - couldn' we talk about tha' at lunch, yer lot should be in class. Besides, Professor Kettleburn's supposed ter teach yer tha'," Hagrid answered.

"Yes, but no one knows the forest like you do, Hagrid," said Remus with an expression of angelic innocence. That proved it, he was up to something and it was bound to be no good.

"That and he's suspicious of us," James scoffed as if the idea was ludicrous.

"Not that it would matter because it's for an essay Kettleburn assigned, he'd just tell us to do our research," Remus said.

"Yeah, on the creatures in the forest," Peter nodded, realising by Hagrid's raised eyebrows that he had been thrown off by James's comment.

"On magical creatures native to Scotland. Pay attention Peter," James corrected, quickly.

"We thought maybe the Centaurs would be easiest," Remus said, making an obvious mistake.

"No they're from - oh, alrigh'. Come in," Hagrid grumbled, moving aside to let them in. "Mind that step," he warned as they filed past him. "Make yerselves at home."

Hagrid's house had only one room complete with pheasants hanging from the ceiling, a massive bed in the corner covered by a patchwork quilt, a large wooden table in the middle of the house, and a warm crackling fire to which the boys went automatically to warm their aching fingers.

"What's that Hagrid?" Remus asked, looking at something nest-like on the table. Hagrid was busy putting Fang in a pillowy box by the door, imploring him to stay and hadn't noticed that Remus had asked a question. Sirius crept over to have a look. There, in the center of the table, sitting in a nest of one of Hagrid's shirts, was six fragile looking, sapphire blue, tiny eggs (smaller than a snitch) warmed by a pool of sunlight streaming in through a window.

"Nevermind those," Hagrid said, quickly scooping up his shirt and placing it carefully on the mantle over the fireplace. "Yer lot sit down an' I'll put the kettle on." Hagrid moved swiftly about the room, having to repeatedly put Fang back to bed in between trying to fill his large copper kettle with water, set saucer sized tea cups in front of them on the table, and put the kettle on the fire all while explaining where Centaurs really came from. "Centaurs are Greek, not Scottish. On'ly reason why we have 'em is 'cause the Ministry started makin' laws against 'em an' takin' their land so Dumbledore offered 'em the forest. Tha' was when he firs' became Headmaster. Ministry didn' like it but they learned ter stay out o' things where Dumbledore's concerned."

"Great man, Dumbledore," Remus remarked, smiling knowingly at Hagrid.

"Yeah, great man," Hagrid grinned back. "Anyway, if 's somethin' easy yeh're lookin' fer, try unicorns. There's loads o' studies on 'em wha' with their healin' properties."

"Unicorns. Got it. Anything else?" Remus asked, as if out of mild curiosity.

"Oh, lemme see…" Hagrid moved to lift the screaming kettle from the fire and Fang got up to follow before Sirius scooped him up and held him firmly in his lap, scratching behind his ears until he relaxed. "There's thestrals, acromantulas," Hagrid listed, pouring tea into their cups, "load o' bowtruckles, direwolves, small flock o' Augureys as well. It used to be bigger but we had a bit o' a drought a few ye-"

"Hang on! There are direwolves in the forbidden forest?" Remus said, bolting upright in his chair.

"O' course. We've had 'em since I was in school 'cause - well never yer mind. But they're bein' moved at the end o' the year, least fer a while. Dumbledore reckons they're huntin' the Chimaera an' they're nearly extinct so we've gotta protect 'em," Hagrid added sadly, staring out of the window at the forest.

"What's a direwolf?" Peter asked.

"It's the product of werewolves mating in their wolf forms. How many are there?" Remus questioned.

"Three. I can ask Dumbledore 'bout takin' yer out ter meet 'em. Shoulda thought 'bout it before," Hagrid said.

"Thanks. But why… " Remus stared intently at his teacup as if it would suddenly pipe up and answer his half-spoken question, then sighed and settle back into his seat.

"The direwolves live in apart o' the forest I don' usually go in often. I didn' think 'bout tellin' yer," Hagrid said gruffly yet oddly soft.

"It's alright, Hagrid," Remus said, quickly. "We heard that Kettleburn released the nifflers he showed us last year in the forest. Are they still there?"

"Oh yeah, always are. He rounds 'em up once a year when he wan's ter show his class. Should be doin' it nex' term." Hagrid answered then took a loud gulp of his tea.

A reflective silence fell over the five of them that seemed to center around Remus who, refusing to meet anyone's eye, was staring at his hands folded on the table. Sirius looked at James and Peter, wondering if they knew what was wrong with their friend, but, judging by their equally concerned and confused expressions, they were as ignorant as he was. Hagrid, on the other hand, looked rather guiltily at Remus.

"So Hagrid," James said suddenly, clearing his throat and sitting up straighter in his chair. "What is it with the direwolves? Why won't you go into their part of the forest?"

"Nothin'. They jus' prefer to be alone 's all. They're intelligent enough ter take care o their own - galloping gorgons!" Hagrid got up so suddenly he knocked into the table, spilling their tea. He glanced out of the window by the door then spun around. "You four've gotta go! Professor Sprouts comin', you'll get in trouble if she sees yer."

The boys didn't need telling twice. They jumped to their feet and restuffed themselves into their hats, scarves, and jumpers as quickly as possible.

"Go out the back and wait 'till we're past the Whompin' Willow before goin' back ter the castle. An' make sure yer get ter class!" Hagrid growled as Peter, Sirius, James, and Remus past him.

"Thanks, Hagrid," James grinned over his shoulder.

Hagrid nodded then said quickly, "Remus, I'm sorry I didn' tell yer 'bout -"

"No, Hagrid, it wasn't that. I just thought of something I need to speak with Dumbledore about, that's all." Remus smiled kindly at him.

"Don't forget ter ask abou' me takin' yer ter see 'em," Hagrid smiled.

"Could we come too?" Sirius asked, not expecting a yes but he had to try.

"If Dumbledore says 'sokay," Hagrid answered. At a knock on the door, Fang sprang into action barking furiously and scratching at the wood. "Get ter class!" Hagrid hissed then snapped the door shut.

"What do you want to ask Dumbledore?" Sirius asked ducking behind one of Hagrid's impossibly large pumpkins; he only had to crouch a little to not be seen.

"Nothing," Remus muttered, doing the same.

"What'd you mean nothing?" Peter asked.

Remus groaned irritably before answering, "I just want to clarify something."

"Like what?" James pressed.

"Like why I have to be locked in the shack every month when we have direwolves in the forest," Remus hissed bitterly at the rock he was nudging out of the dirt with his toe.

"Probably a good thing. They sound dangerous," Peter reflected.

"I'm dangerous Peter," Remus reminded him as he peered over the tops of the pumpkins to see where Professor Sprout and Hagrid were.

"Wonder where they're going to move them to," James said, pointedly ignoring Remus's self-deprecating remark.

"Ireland," Remus said as if this were obvious.

"Oh, with Eilidh," James said.

Sirius took a deep breath, deciding that there was no time like the present.

"Speaking of," he said quickly, "I asked her to Hogsmeade."

"I was going to ask her anyways. I heard that Zonkos -"

"No, James," Remus said. "He means like…."

"Oh!" James breathed. "That was fast."

"But you don't like her," Peter said, looking utterly confused.

"'Course he does! He's liked her since he wrote that essay for her last year," James smirked in a way that made Sirius's blood boil.

"If I recall correctly, I think I hated her last year," Sirius argued, turning his face away from James to look at nothing in particular.

"Only because you were denying the fact that you were in love with her," James argued, still smirking.

"No one said anything about love," Sirius growled, darting a foot out to kick James's but he was too quick for him. For whatever reason, the word had caused Sirius heart to sputter and not in a pleasant way. James formed his fingers into a heart shape and thumped them over his chest to the beat of his mouthed L-O-V-E. "Indifference to hatred to plausible like is not what I'd consider love. Just ask Evans."

"Evans and I have something deeper than your petty tempers. You hated her because of a misunderstanding," James said airily. "Anyway, you'll have to find somewhere else to take her. Hogsmeade's our thing."

"Our thing?" Sirius laughed. "I didn't know we had a thing."

"Hogsmeade is our thing. We always go together," James said, matter of factly.

"Time," Remus said, pushing himself up to lead them back to the castle.

"Who else would you go with? Snape?" Sirius cleaned the dirt off his robes wondering if James's problem with Hogsmeade was real or a joke; it was getting harder to tell when their arguments were fake.

"I reckon no one will be able to find us in this pumpkin patch," James said, leaning more comfortably against his pumpkin seeming intent on staying where he was.

"We have O. next year," Remus warned over his shoulder.

"'Next year' being the operative phrase," Sirius said; however the argument was feeble. Remus could simply say that Sirius had promised to focus on his grades this year or that O. tested them on the knowledge they acquired in all years previous. Remus didn't say any of this.

"You can use class time to argue with James," he said instead. Remus never argued unless he felt it was necessary and this time it wasn't.

James grumbled as he got to his feet and muttered as he passed Sirius, "Hogsmeade with Snape. Barmy!"

Sirius chuckled then called out, "Oi Remus!" Remus stopped at the start of the inclining hill and he, James, and Peter jogged to catch up. "What was the point of all that anyway? Going to Hagrid's?"

"We still haven't figured out how to prank the Slug Club," Remus smirked.

"You're going to make us go into the forest aren't you?" Peter asked, stopping abruptly and colliding with James. Remus hummed and smiled and continued his lazy stroll up the hillside.

Remus never did answer them. Instead, he let Peter spend the day staring out of windows as if trying to summon his courage. James and Sirius argued about the next Hogsmeade weekend and, in subtext, the possibility of venturing into the forbidden forest. James didn't believe that Remus would ever plan an illegal trip into a forest infamously known for being dangerous. Sirius felt he had a better grasp of Remus's character. Still, no one was surprised when Remus woke them in the middle of the night.

There was a stream of questions from both James and Peter trying to piece together what Remus was planning but his answers were too vague. But Sirius knew or felt he knew, what he was planning by three things.1.) Remus had said this was for the Slug Club's dinner party, 2.) Remus knew that rich people liked to show off their wealth with expensive jewellery, 3.) Remus had asked Hagrid specifically about nifflers.

So his question wasn't what he was doing, but how he was planning on doing it. The plan was brilliant in theory, but catching nifflers was supposed to be nearly impossible. Sirius knew only how to repel and kill nifflers, but Mr Lupin was notoriously more humane than his parents and had taught Remus to be as well. So Sirius decided to watch and not ask questions. Tonight was going to be a learning experience.

Remus led them down a winding path and stopped only when they were far enough into the forest they could no longer see Hagrid's hut, but not so far the moon was invisible through the trees.

Remus set his sack down against a tree and started kicking leaves and rocks out of his way. He bent to feel the ground, piled the surrounding twigs on top of each other then ignited them with a tap of his wand.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Peter asked, hiding his fear with obvious effort. Sirius didn't see what the big deal was. The forest seemed just like any other forest. He was actually disappointed that it didn't live up to its hype.

Remus sighed and found a long stick to poke his fire with. "In the morning, I'm going to have to have spent three days laying in my hospital bed. Let me have this."

A look of acute determination took over James's face whenever Remus referenced his condition, this time was no different.

"So what's next?" James said, pushing up the sleeves of his Holyhead Harpies jumper they had been sworn to never speak of. The Holyhead Harpies were his least favourite team but his aunt gave it to him for a birthday present and he was too sentimental to throw it out. Remus reached over to grab his sack and tossed it to James.

"Those need to be hung around the fire, so the light catches it," he said, piling more twigs on his slowly growing fire.

They hung the half dozen golden trophies around the fire, laughing at the thought of Remus stealing them from the trophy room and the thought of Filch's face when he found out they were missing.

"I made sure to use the ones that weren't noticeable," Remus said in response to Peter's impression of Filch threatening the use of thumbscrews if he didn't return the stolen goods. "We need to be quiet or they won't come so sit down and enjoy the fire."

"We should have brought something to roast," James said, sitting with his legs crossed and holding Remus's tall stick above the flame.

"Right, so we could attract all the dark and creepy man-eating things," said Sirius laying out against the trunk of a tree with his legs stretched out so the fire would warm his toes.

"No thanks. I'd rather starve," said Peter, slumping down between James and Remus.

"How'd you know how to start a fire like that Remus?" Sirius asked. He had never seen a wizard use an actual fire unless it was for the floo network and even then the prep work was already done.

"It's kind of necessary," Remus said quietly and with an air that told them not to ask why it was necessary so they fell silent.

Sirius never before appreciated how lively the night was. It wasn't just the wood snapping under the heat of the flame or the wind rustling the few leaves that were left on the trees or even his friends' steady breathing. The forest itself was alive, bugs crawled and chirped, wings fluttered overhead, and if he strained properly he thought he could hear hooves thundering in the distance. It was the kind of quiet that even James didn't feel the need to interrupt so Sirius was startled when James's voice broke the quiet in a sudden and urgent whisper.

"Sirius, don't move."

Sirius froze, a chill running down his spine. He tried to see whatever it was that had alerted James out of the corner of his eye, but all he could see was the dark silhouette of trees. He could hear something, perhaps a squirrel, scampering up the tree. No, a squirrel wouldn't sound that big.

Remus moved slowly to pick up his wand where he had tossed it aside. Crouching low, he pointed his wand well above Sirius's head and took a calculated aim. He shot a spell of blinding blue light and Sirius dived out of the way. James pulled him the rest of the way around the fire. There was an odd squeal and more scuttling.

"Dammit," Remus muttered, standing and moving around the fire to check that the rope holding the trophy was still intact.

"What was it?" asked James.

"Niffler," Sirius answered, too busy watching the other trophies to feel embarrassed.

"You had us scared of a bloody niffler!" James yelled at Remus. Remus waved a hand indicating that he should stay quiet.

"Those things'll rip your eyes out if it means they can get something shiny," Peter whispered, huddling closer to James and Sirius.

James's sigh sounded more like a groan and to who it was directed was unclear. "How do we catch it?"

"Lucipula. It works best nonverbally and aim carefully. If they start to feel threatened they will attack," Remus warned.

Using nonverbal spells was fairly simple if you had a firm grasp of the root spell. For once Sirius was grateful for his family's traditions, at least one of them. When normal children learnt cursive, the Blacks were taught several dead languages including Latin which was what this spell was rooted in so Sirius knew he'd be able to perform it with ease. The difficulty was being faster than the niffler. Sirius swore under his breath, watching as the creature who had so easily dodged his spell scuttled out of sight. Neither James nor Peter was able to accomplish the task either, but they both spoke the spell aloud.

"How many are there?" Peter whispered after their spells faded out.

"Six by my count," Remus answered.

"Sirius, move to the opposite side of the tree," James ordered in the furtive tone Sirius had learnt not to question. "Peter, take the east side. Remus, the south."

They moved swiftly into position while keeping eye contact with the tree, searching for the niffler James held stubbornly in sight. Sirius found it sniffing the rope they had tied to the branch. It was smaller than the others, perhaps still an infant.

"Together," James said locking eyes with Sirius who nodded. James looked at Peter who was nervously chewing his bottom lip and was gripping his wand with white knuckles. "Ready?" Peter nodded and he moved back to the niffler. "Three… Two…." James, instead of saying one, shouted the spell at the same time as Peter. Four streams of blue light issued from four different directions and encased the niffler in a shining blue ball of light. The niffler froze, transfixed by his surroundings as they steadily brought it closer to the ground.

"Hold it steady," Remus warned, "concentrate on the spell. I'll get the sack." Remus lifted his wand and ran back to the fire. At the loss of Remus's magic, the ball dulled a little and the niffler blinked at them. Sirius wondered if it'd be able to break free.

"All right," Remus panted, striding toward the trapped niffler with the sack held open. "Drop it in."

The three of them moved in careful unison to drop the ball in the sack. The moment Remus closed it the niffler began to writhe and thrash, angrily snarling to be let out. Remus kept a tight hold on the neck of the sack as he knotted it closed.

"We just caught a niffler," Peter breathed.

"Hell yeah, we did," James grinned

"What if his pack tries to get him back?" Peter asked, nervously twisting his fingers.

"We'll be sure to leave a trail leading to your bed so it'll be your eyes they eat instead of ours," Sirius said wickedly.

"Nifflers don't have packs, and they don't eat eyes," Remus said, moving back to their fire.

"What do they eat? 'Cause if he's gonna be staying with us until tonight he's gonna have to eat," James said, over a rustling, Sirius thought hadn't come from the nifflers but he couldn't be sure.

"I don't know, but they don't eat eyes," Remus said uncertainly.

"Shhhh," Sirius hissed. He was sure he heard a voice that could have been Hagrid's.

"What is -"

"Shh!"

Sirius stepped closer to where he had heard the voice and listened.

"Over here, Albus! I see a light." It was unmistakably Professor McGonagall voice leading Professor Dumbledore toward the only light source visible, their fire.

Sirius ran to kick dirt onto their fire to extinguish it.

"What, Sirius?" James demanded loudly.

"For Merlin's sake, shut up!" Sirius growled reaching for James and anyone else he could find to drag behind a large tree. "It's McGonagall and Dumbledore."

"What?" James hissed, peering around the tree. "That was Hagrid."

"I heard Prof-"

"Guys, I see Flitwick," Peter muttered.

"They're going to expect to find something," Remus said, holding the niffler tightly against his chest. It was squealing much too loudly for Sirius's taste. "Hagrid probably saw our spells and thought it was something dangerous that's why they're all-"

"Diminuendo," Sirius muttered, shrinking the whining lump in Remus's arms so it's noise couldn't be heard.

"You can't shrink a living animal!" Remus hissed.

"They must have heard us coming," they heard Professor Haas whisper from somewhere close by.

"I'll go," Remus said, barely audible. "I'm sick they won't-"

James had moved out from behind the tree so quickly that Sirius had blinked and he was already in the clearing.

"Son of a-" Sirius tried to go after him but Remus caught him by the arm and apologetically pointed his wand to Sirius's feet; an unspoken threat to magically root him to the spot.

"Evening Professors," James said smoothly.

Sirius ripped the wand out of Remus's hand and ignored the angry look he got. Turning to Peter, he ordered, "If he tries to move, hex him."

"I was just out for a stroll," James shrugged.

"I asked him to come," Sirius said, taking his place by James's side. "Had a nightmare and didn't want to be alone."

"Well, Professor Dumbledore, considering the 'dark wizards' are a couple of rudimentary teenagers I think I'll return to bed," Professor Haas laughed and turned away without waiting for an answer.

"Yes, I think we should all return to bed," concurred Professor Flitwick.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir," Hagrid seemed to be on the verge of a heartfelt apology before Dumbledore stretched to place a hand on his arm.

"Would you do me the honour of treating me to a brandy Hagrid?" Dumbledore said kindly.

"O' course Professor," Hagrid said, a smile twitching behind his beard. He paused momentarily but continued when he realized Dumbledore wasn't going to follow right away. Dumbledore hummed and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, waiting for the rest of his party to leave the forest until only he and McGonagall, whose stern gaze held James and Sirius in their place, remained.

"Mr Lupin and Mr Pettigrew, would you be so kind as to join us?" McGonagall called.

"It's just-" James started but was silenced by a swiftly stern look from McGonagall. Remus and Peter came out and stood on either side of Sirius; Remus with a seamless mask of calm and Peter with a positively terrified expression.

"I am going to assume, but correct me if I am wrong, that Professor Kettleburn as informed you of the dangers of removing an animal from it's home," Dumbledore asked, his expression open and friendly like they were having this discussion over tea.

"Yes sir," Remus answered, promptly.

"I trust that you have left the creatures in this forest alone," Dumbledore continued and after they had issued their various forms of affirmations said, "Then the floor is yours, Professor McGonagall," and turned to leave.

McGonagall turned to make her way out of the forest. She gestured for them to follow.

"Hagrid said he saw you performing magic. What were you doing?" she questioned after they were able to match her strides.

"We were practising nonverbal magic," Sirius said, automatically.

"That is N.E.W.T level magic, Mr Black," she said, raising an eyebrow. Whether she was impressed or suspicious, Sirius couldn't tell.

"Thought we'd get a head start on it," James shrugged. "We heard N.E.W.T levels can be hard to keep up with."

McGonagall took a slow deep breath then nodded. "Based on what you've told Professor Dumbledore, I'm going to assume that you're telling the truth," she said and a ripple of relief flowed through Sirius, though he knew she wasn't done. "However, you have been caught out of bed, scared your teachers, and ventured into a forest you have been forbidden to enter without an escort. I have no choice but to punish you. All four of you will serve detention with me every night of next week, starting Monday. In addition, fifty points - yes, Potter - fifty points will be taken from each of you for your lack of self-preservation."

"But Professor that's two hundred points!" James exclaimed.

"Yes, Potter, it is. Maybe next time you'll think before you act," she said, sounding shrill. It seemed obvious now from the worry lines in her face and her slightly shaking fingers that she had been really scared which created the suspicion that she was being lenient with them. "Now march back up to the castle and go straight to bed.I expect to see you at breakfast in the morning looking well rested."

The four of them scurried past her without a backwards glance. No one commented on the fact that her last request was impossible to fulfil, considering it was only an hour before sunrise.

"Two hundred points and a week of detentions. Cresswell's going to kill us," James said.

The fact that Cresswell had threatened to make Sirius's life a living hell if he got one more detention had crossed his mind, but it was quickly overshadowed when he saw McGonagall trembling in fear. It was quite strange that almost the entire staff had come out into the forest because Hagrid had seen something strange. Then he remembered that Professor Haas had said something about dark wizards.

"They were expecting us to be Death Eaters," Sirius said so only James could hear. "They thought that actual Death Eaters had broken into Hogwarts."


	25. Bad Moon Rising

Josie took a smoker's breath, heavy on the intake through the nose and light on the release out of the mouth. It was a common movement but was done so perfectly that it led Lily to wonder if Josie had found other means of dealing with her anxiety. That was how Lily's grandfather had started; the same grandfather who died of lung cancer with a lit fag dangling between his slack fingers. Marlene entered the room before Lily could think of a casual way to ask Josie about it.

"If you see Frank before I do, tell him 'geraniums' from Alice. Apparently, he'll know what that means," Marlene said in a rush, peeling off her Quidditch robes and replacing them with her dressing gown. "Oh, and Snape said he's going to meet you there."

"Was he with Mulciber?" Lily asked trying not to sound upset about it. The only reason why Sev wouldn't wait for her would be because of Mulciber. Marlene shrugged and strolled out of the room.

"Tell Eilidh to hurry up!" Josie called after her. Lily watched Josie's expression on the mirror as she put on her lip gloss. "You can go. I'm just waiting for Eilidh."

"You nervous about tonight?" Lily asked casually, bending down to look like she was fixing the straps on her wedges.

"A little," she shrugged.

"Have you taken a calming draught?" Lily asked, unnecessarily smoothing her skirt.

"I'm not that nervous." Josie smiled confidently. "Marlene already reminded me to bring some with me so don't waste your breath."

"I'll see you there then." Lily breathed, loudly. At Josie's look of concern, she smiled, trying to seem nonchalant. She didn't feel comfortable about leaving Josie alone tonight but felt she couldn't stall any longer.

Lily had a bad feeling about tonight in general. Severus had called it nerves but then Remus didn't show up to class and that was usually a bad omen. Nothing terrible had happened in the day so far, but she had lost her favourite pen sometime during lunch and was forced to borrow a quill for the rest of the day. Maybe this time, Remus's absence was only a warning for a mild inconvenience.

Slughorn's dinner party was held in a banquet hall at the opposite end of the castle. Something about the room's stuffy and over glamorous appearance made Lily long for the easy atmosphere of the Great Hall.

"Lookin' good Lily," winked a Ravenclaw boy by the name of Gilles Zabini who always looked at her like that whether she was in dress robes or not.

"Thanks," she said shortly and glided past him without a second thought. She searched the room trying to find Severus.

Professor Slughorn was chatting with a bored looking woman, a smile never leaving his face. The woman wore a band of white diamonds around her head, black diamonds studded her ears and trailed around her neck, and a different stone adorned every finger on the hand she lazily used to bring a champagne glass to her overdrawn lips. Lily had the distinct impression that she wasn't listening to a word Slughorn was saying.

"Hey Lily!" a short Hufflepuff girl named Carina (and a close friend of Bertha Jorkins,) touched her arm. "Have you heard about the Death Eaters in the forbidden forest last night?"

"Death Eaters? No," Lily said, more confused than frightened. Any rumour coming from a friend of Bertha Jorkins was bound to be more speculation than truth.

"Yeah, apparently last night Hagrid saw a few Death Eaters cursing the castle and called Dumbledore. All the professors came out and chased them off but no one knows if their curse succeeded yet. I tried asking Professor Slughorn but he refused to say anything. You'd think he would, all things considered," Carina shrugged, gazing at Slughorn.

A thousand arguments flooded Lily's mind. She pursed her lips, trapping the words in and said instead, "I'm sure if it's anything important Dumbledore will tell us about it sooner or later." With a gentle smile, she pressed on, determined to find Severus, hoping, against her better logic, that he wasn't with his Slytherins friends.

"Oh! Frank," Lily said, reaching out to grab Frank Longbottom's attention. "Marlene told me that Alice said geraniums and that you'd know what that meant."

"Thanks. Um, are you - you're friends with James now, right?" Frank asked. Lily felt her face flushed scarlet. Her eyes dashed around the room, hoping neither Potter or Severus was anywhere near her.

"Er, not exactly. I mean it's complicated," she said awkwardly, guilt coursing through her.

"Oh. Well, do you know if he was planning on coming here tonight? Sirius is here and it's kinda suspicious not to see them together," Frank said, a worry line forming between his brows.

A cruel voice in the back of her head gave her an unnecessary reminder: Remus wasn't in class today.

"Black is here?" she asked. She couldn't think of any reason why they would arrive separately.

"Yeah, with Slughorn." Frank pointed toward where Lily had seen Professor Slughorn talking with that woman with the diamonds. Turning, she now saw both the Black brothers standing with Rabastan Lestrange; he seemed to be the only one carrying a conversation with the now attentive woman.

"Potter never told me he wasn't coming, but I'll ask Black," Lily promised.

"Thanks. I'll go back around. Maybe I missed him," Frank said, his face now tense with determination.

"If you see Severus Snape, tell him I'm with Slughorn," Lily requested. Frank waved a hand without turning around before he disappeared in the crowd.

Before Lily had reached the group, Slughorn gestured for her to move quicker, his face lighting up. "Lily Evans meet Amoriel Lestrange. Miss Evans is one of my top students."

"Pleasure," the diamond-encrusted woman, Amoriel Lestrange, said dully, graciously accepting Lily's offered hand. Lily noted that her grip was especially weak.

"Oh, the pleasure's mine. I've been looking forward to meeting you." Lily grinned, broadly, and spoke in a preppy and excited voice. However, her mind was swirling with a thousand negative thoughts about what could have caused Severus and Potter to disappear at the same time.

"How sweet." Mrs Lestrange's smile was more like a snarl. The elder Black scoffed loudly and gulped down his drink while the younger glared at him. Rabastan Lestrange smiled. His eyes looked sinisterly amused, and it gave Lily an odd empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Miss Evans is particularly interested in the Wizengamot," Slughorn said, determined to keep a conversation flowing between himself and Mrs Lestrange. Lily didn't want to be apart of this conversation at all but it was apparent to her that this connection was very important to her professor. They had formed an odd sort of friendship over the years so she didn't let her irritation show.

"Yes, ma'am. I hope to have a seat with them one day, partially inspired by your hand in The Public v Thicknesse trial," she lied but she had a feeling that flattery was the way to go with Mrs Lestrange. The woman did indeed puff up like a peacock and continued the conversation looking down her nose at Lily.

"It would be smart to have a backup plan just in case. The Wizengamot doesn't accept simply anyone."

Lily did not like the way Amoriel Lestrange said "anyone." It sounded more like she meant anything, and that anything meant Lily and Lily meant dirt.

"Oh, I know," Lily grinned, allowing only her toes to curl in indignation. "I want to start in the Department of International Cooperation, specifically the International Confederation of Wizards." She didn't need to say "like Angelina Martin," which had been Mrs Lestrange's biggest competition in The Public v Thicknesse trial.

"Yes, you do have to be somewhat adaptable to fill those seats."

Once again, Mrs Lestrange's word "adaptable" seemed to have a double meaning, one that made Lily feel minuscule.

"Okay! Why is no one dancing?" Black demanded, suddenly and loudly. "There's music playing and no one dancing! Evans?"

Without waiting for an answer, Black grabbed her and ushered her away from the group into a small clearing in the crowd and began to 'dance' but it was more her holding him up as he swayed in no particular rhythm.

"Are you drunk?" Lily asked, laughing at the idea. He didn't smell drunk.

"Maybe a smidge but you have no idea how good champagne tastes," Black said, fighting to stand on his own. "I can feel the world spinning," he whispered, staring at his shoes.

"I'm surprised you've never tried champagne before," Lily laughed.

"Mum said I already acted like an idiot and that I don't need any help in that department,'' Black said taking her hand and starting to move them in a sloppy waltz.

"Partially true," Lily said, watching their feet carefully so she didn't get stepped on. He sniggered.

"Hey, that's mean!" he exclaimed but he was shocked and not insulted so Lily didn't feel bad about laughing.

"Sirius?" She said cautiously. He hummed in response, gazing over her head at something lightened his face and stilled his drunken swaying. Lily didn't think it polite to look. "What did Lestrange mean by adaptable?"

"That bitch!" Black said, looking down at her. He wasn't angry with her but there was a ferocity in his eyes that chilled her. "She was talking about you being a muggle-born and how you're learning to live in the wizarding world."

"That's not really a bad thing," Lily mumbled.

"Yeah, well, believe me, she doesn't mean it as a compliment," he said, returning to stare at whatever it was behind her.

"I'm not insulted," she said honestly. Out of all of her faults not being pure-blooded was the stupidest one. Lily didn't even consider it to be a fault. She was able to do something that Amoriel Lestrange, with all her money, power, and connection could never do. It wasn't a weakness it was a strength, one that people like Amoriel Lestrange needed to stop underestimating.

"Good," Sirius said and half turned them with a swooping step. Lily peered around him curiously but saw nothing except Frank talking with Marlene, Alice, Eilidh, and Josie.

"Do you know where Potter is?" Lily asked, remembering the reason why she had approached him in the first place. Either she was getting better at reading him or his remaining drunkenness was delaying his reactions; whatever the reason, he looked guilty.

"Er, no," he said, clearing his throat. Within seconds he wore his familiar mask of innocence.

"Right." Lily took her hand from his. Something was happening to Severus, she knew it. "Do you know generally where he is?"

"On his way," Black shrugged. "Do you know when they're going to serve food 'cause I'm in half a mind to-"

"Black! What are you two up to?" Lily demanded.

"Nothing," he said, shocked that he, of all people, would be accused of being up to something.

"Where's Remus?" Lily asked. It had to be connected, it just had to.

"He's ill," Black answered promptly.

"And Peter?" she continued.

Black gave a long shrug. "Didn't want to come. Can't say I blame him."

"Is Potter with Severus?" She held her breath, studying his face as she waited for his answer.

Black made a derisive noise of disgust. "No! He hates the fucker. Why would he seek him out? Isn't his fault the idiot turns up everywhere he goes. Why don't you tell him to get a life?"

"Stop it!" Lily warned, her hands balled into fists at her sides. Black sighed irritably.

"Look," he breathed. "I'll help you find James if you want. I'm sure he wouldn't mind you knowing what he's up to."

"So you are up to something?" Lily accused.

"Oh, shut up." Black stormed past her, not looking to see if she would follow. Lily fought with the need to hit him with a good stinging hex and the need to know what Potter was up to.

She started to follow him before she had consciously decided to do it. He wasn't heading for the door that led out to the rest of the castle, instead, he strode directly to the window that opened into a balcony. He opened it up, letting a chill flow through the room and found a couple too preoccupied to come up for air let alone to look at who had discovered them. Sirius turned quickly away, looking embarrassed but then he chuckled softly.

"She was right," he whispered. Lily looked back at the couple. Fabian Lynch and Moira Castro's relationship was a very public affair, one that Lily knew for sure that Black knew about. Every time he and Potter had seen the couple show any form of affection to each other in the corridor they made it a point to interrupt them: It was a spectacle that both amused and annoyed her.

"Who and what was she right about?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," Black said in a way that warned her to not ask any more questions. He strode away, leaving her to close the window before scurrying to follow.

There was a door hidden behind the self-playing orchestra that Black cracked open. He pulled his head back quickly with a pained expression.

"No one's been in there for ages," he said, sounding like he was holding back a gag or a sneeze. He cleared his throat and turned away. Lily was beginning to wonder if he actually knew where Potter was.

Black moved forward, grasping her hand so they wouldn't be separated by the crowd. This time he led her out the door to the rest of the castle, the sound of their party echoing through the empty corridor until the door was shut and all fell silent. It was so quiet she could hear Black's steady breathing and the flames from the torches whispering in the air.

"Does this seem odd to you?" Black asked, his eyes sweeping over every inch of the corridor in such a paranoid way it made Lily's stomach churn with fright.

"Wands out?" she asked. She didn't know if they should really be expecting danger but the sudden change in mood was odd. The castle was usually lively even at night but there wasn't a ghost or stray pet in sight.

"Maybe," he said, stepping forward without taking out his wand. Lily took out hers just to be safe.

They moved slowly and steadily like they were on a casual stroll throughout the castle. Black's intense vigilance never ceased though, and that only aided Lily's fear.

She could hear a soft murmur of voices now, and dull thuds occasionally accompanied by low grunts, all of which began to build in volume as they came closer to the source. Black's pace had hastened from a casual stroll to a hurried walk.

A voice had muttered 'something, something, Potter.' It was the goading, sneering tone behind the word Potter that made the speaker's intentions quite clear: Someone was trying to hurt James.

But James couldn't be hurt. James Potter, with his constant smirk and playful eyes, was impervious to pain.

Black jogged along the corridor, his wand in hand, head-turning frantically from side to side. And then they heard it; a scream of pain that caused Black to break out into a run and Lily to be filled with sickening dread.

Someone had hurt James.

Lily arrived at the scene at the same time as Black. There was a small circle formed down the Charms corridor barely illuminated by a single moonbeam. In the middle stood a single figure, leering at something on the ground. The left side of the circle was pushing a second figure back into standing position. A pair of square glasses glinted in the moonlight as James stumbled to regain his balance then he charged at the first figure. He didn't use his wand but his fists. He punched his opponent three times, each time blood spewed from the oppositions face. Smack! - Smack! - Smack! After the third, a deafening crunch like bones breaking sounded and Lily screamed while Black broke into action.

"Stupefy! Impedimenta! Petrificus Totalus!" He cast the spells so quickly his wand movements were blurred. The three people who were blocking the centre of their circle dropped. James was standing, panting, covered in a sheen of sweat, fists still clenched hanging at his side, glaring down at his opponent who had fallen to the ground.

Severus stared up at Potter with an equal amount of hatred, blood trickling down from his swollen nose into his slightly parted lips. Behind them stood three more people, Slytherins, pointing their wands at Black.

"Severus," she said, her voice sounding hollow and unnatural. There had to be more to what happened here than what it seemed.

"He started it," Severus said in a low waspish voice as he clambered to his feet.

"Bull shit!" James gave a short ironic laugh that made Lily's stomach flip.

"Typical Potter, too stupid to remember something that happened less than five minutes ago," Severus sneered. It wasn't Potter that dived for him but Black.

Black and Severus rolled on the floor, fighting for dominance while knees collided with chests, elbows with faces, and fists with heads. The Slytherins backed out of their way but Potter stooped to grab one of them and ended up pulling Severus off.

"Stop!" Lily ordered, the strength in her voice finally returning. "Let go of him!" She stormed forward, her wand pointed at Potter as she reached out to tug Severus from his grasp.

"I didn't start this," Potter said, his voice hoarse and eyes cold. He held out a hand to signal Black to stay put. For whatever reason, Black listened.

"Just leave him alone," Lily said and pushed Severus away before he could get a chance to say anything.

"I didn't need your help," Severus said softly. Still, Lily thought she heard a note of bitterness in his tone.

"It doesn't matter. I wasn't about to stand there and watch that happen," Lily said, her voice embarrassingly thick.

"You didn't have to, you could have walked away," he said, staring at his feet moving briskly like he was trying to get away from her.

"I'm taking you to the hospital wing!" Lily told him and she was distantly reminded of her sister telling her parents that she would be staying out past her curfew.

"I don't need to go -"

"You're bleeding, Sev -"

"It'll stop on its own!"

"And it'll give you time to explain to me exactly what happened," Lily said as threateningly as she could muster.

"You believe him?" It wasn't a question, though it was posed as one; it was an accusation, one that Lily needed to dispel quickly.

"As your best friend, Severus, I'm concerned for you and would like to know what happened," she said, steadily.

"But he's your friend too, isn't he? I'm not an idiot and I'm not blind. I see you smiling at him in class. Talking to him in the corridors when you think I'm not there." Severus stopped there but seemed to want to say so much more. He was never supposed to find out about that, she thought she had been discreet.

Lily had only herself to blame. She had been lying to him for weeks and, yes, sneaking around with James Potter. Disloyalty. There was no other word for it. She had committed a disgusting, sneaky act of disloyalty and in doing so she had shown Severus that his friendship meant nothing.

She leant forward and kissed his cheek. When she spoke she did it gently hoping her sincerity showed in her tone because she couldn't muster the courage for a true confession.

"Friends don't treat each other like that. Friends don't hurt each other. If he was my true friend he wouldn't have hurt you no matter the history between you two because hurting you hurts me."

Severus stilled and his expression became unreadable; it always did when things reached an emotion besides anger. Lily linked her arm with his and started leading him toward the hospital wing.

"Will you tell me what happened?" Lily asked, cautiously. She didn't want their argument to start again.

"Potter tripped me," he said quickly. "I pushed him back then… I don't know it, happened so quickly it's kind of a blur."

It made sense. Potter had tripped Severus too many times to count and Severus wasn't the kind of person to walk away, especially in front of his Slytherin friends. She didn't ask why he and his friends weren't at the party; she didn't want to know.


	26. Fight or Fall

James couldn't think. He had stopped thinking hours ago. Or had it really only been five minutes? Regardless, now that he was actually trying to think he couldn't. He felt a tight grasp around his hand and a tugging against the muscles in his arm. He realised that he was pulling Sirius to his feet.

The Slytherins stood staring at them. Mulciber, Avery, and some other bastard he had never bothered to learn the name of stood like they weren't quite sure what to do.

"What are you staring at?" James didn't mean to yell. He also didn't mean for his hands to shake and his legs to feel so weak but they did. "Get outta here!"

"Why should we Potty?" sneered the one James didn't know the name of. His face was now so ingrained into his retinas, he didn't think it would take long to learn his name. Avery and Mulciber slowly stepped in opposite directions, forming yet another circle this time intent on trapping him and Sirius together, a mistake that would end poorly for them.

"How would you like to wear your guts as a garter belt?" Sirius asked conversationally, he might have been asking how they liked their tea.

The unnamed one scoffed, shared a look with his cohorts, then slinked off without another word.

"What a bunch of creeps," Sirius said, snarling at the place their heels had disappeared.

Sirius was looking at him. James saw it but he couldn't understand it.

"Where's Peter?" he asked, finally.

"We separated," James heard himself say. Do out of body experiences usually last this long? He could feel himself slowly coming to. He knew why he and Peter had separated. They were looking for a hidden entrance into the party. "He's got the niffler. He's probably let it go by now."

That sounded about right. Five minutes was plenty of time to get the job done. He didn't know why he had the phrase "less than five minutes" stuck in his head.

"We need to find him," Sirius said. He didn't sound concerned, scared, or even angry and for that James was grateful.

"Snap out of it, man!" Sirius was shaking his shoulder roughly. James inhaled deeply. Apparently, he had been holding his breath. His right hand felt stiff. He tried to move it but the action only sent a jolt of pain through his arm.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm awake." He hadn't been asleep, but awake seemed like the proper word to use here. At least he could think again. "Let's go find Peter."

James stepped around Rosier, another unknown… and Abbot. Abbot was back in school and had joined the Slytherin gang of wannabe Death Eaters. He cocked his head to see if Sirius had noticed but if he had he wasn't giving off any signs. Maybe he was waiting until they were alone so they could talk freely or maybe he wasn't going to ask at all. Sirius was sometimes unpredictable like that. But it wouldn't make sense for Sirius not to ask. This fight affected him too now.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. His throat felt like he had swallowed something bitter and dry.

"For what?" Sirius laughed.

"I ruined things for you and Eilidh," James said, unsure of where the words came from but unable to deny the truth. One face appeared frequent and clear in his mind. "Lily."

"If Lily's got half a brain then she'll be able to tell that wasn't your fault. You're an idiot, but you're not suicidal," Sirius said. Lily was smart, smarter than most, but for some reason, James believed Sirius to be wrong this time.

The pain didn't stop even after he let his hand rest. In fact, it only served to point out his other aches. His shoulder and knees were unpleasantly sore from when he had fallen on them. His head was starting to ache; he could feel it growing like a virus from the inside out.

"Peter!" Sirius called. Peter was hurriedly forcing his way out of the door to Slughorn's party.

"Run!" Peter squeaked, lurching toward them so quickly he tripped over the hem of his robes. There was a loud, ear-splitting shriek and Sirius grinned. He grabbed Peter's arm as he ran by and pulled him back.

"We want to get caught," Sirius reminded. So they waited with their hands in their pockets, listening to the screams and clattering from within until Slughorn peaked his head out of the door. "Now we can run."

They didn't stop running when Slughorn called for them to, or when Filch and Nearly Headless Nick told them to slow down, not even when Peeves floated between their legs trying to trip them. Only when they reached the Tower and Peter keeled over did they stop. Sirius laughed and fell back onto a step.

"That was funny. Wish we had a picture of that for our wall," he said, grinning.

"Yeah, what happened? You were supposed to be in there taking the picture," Peter asked. Sirius's eyes flashed so quickly to James and back that James couldn't be sure it actually happened.

"All right, mate?" Peter wasn't good at keeping the worry out of his voice.

"I'm fine," James said defensively.

"So fine that you'd leave your wand back there?" Sirius asked, digging into his pocket and pulling out James's wand. He remembered now, he had dropped it when he was knocked down. "No one would think any less of you for going to see Pomfrey. It was seven against one."

"I'm fine," James repeated firmly. He wasn't fine. Waves of pain shot through him so frequently it was hard to tell where one ended and another began, every joint felt like they were hanging on by a thread, and his right hand was at least bruised but more probably broken. His head was pulsing and his vision was blurred.

"You should listen to your friends," the Fat Lady spoke wisely. He should listen to his friends but he was too stubborn or stupid or both to do anything that was good for him at the moment.

"Wattlebird," James said as the portrait swung open muttering about how no one ever listened to her. James had thought that he had used up all of his fear tonight but then she had to reach to the common room before him.

Lily Evans laid stretched out on the couch with her bare feet propped up on the armrest, her painted toes wiggling freely, her matching fingernails pinching the bridge of her nose with her other hand thrumming against her stomach. Her eyes were closed and she hadn't realised he had come in yet.

"All right, Evans?" Sirius asked, brightly. Perhaps he was trying to prove he had been right earlier. Whatever his reason it was a stupid one.

Lily's lips always seemed somehow fuller when she was angry. Her cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkled brightly, dangerously. Her hair had fallen loose from its previous updo in a kind of dishevelment that took James's breath away and pierced his chest.

"I trusted you," she said in a low voice full of terrifying emotion. Every one of her muscles were tense, even her hands were clawed as she waved them about. "I trusted you. I actually trusted you and you…" Lily breathed heavily, staring at him, waiting for something. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

The only thing James could think to say was 'please don't cry' but the request would very likely end in her throwing her shoes at his head.

"What would you like me to say?" he asked. She hadn't asked any questions, all she said was that she trusted him. He knew that; he had enjoyed it and he hadn't done anything to break it, but she wasn't going to listen, not when Snape got to her first and the image of him beating Snape to the ground was so fresh in her memory.

"It wasn't his fault," Peter said quietly, even though he hadn't been there. James felt a twitch of a smile but it was gone in an instant.

"How do you know? You didn't see and I doubt you asked those Slytherins!" Lily yelled at Peter then her eyes shifted back to James. "Fact is you hate Severus. Always have, always will, doesn't matter if we're friends or not."

James shrugged. He saw no reason to deny this. He hated the slimy, oily, git point blank. Lily laughed but it was a horrible, hurt sort of laugh.

"I can't believe I was actually friends with you. Biggest mistake I could have ever made!" She sounded shrill now, almost hysterical.

"It wasn't a mistake," James said. An intense feeling had crept up inside James: He wanted to grab her, to make her see, to make her know just as well as he did that this hadn't been a mistake.

"What's going on?" Eilidh had stepped out from behind James. She cast a look of concern upon everyone else in the room, a panic-stricken one on Sirius, then Lily, and back to James - this look was angry and she didn't even know what happened yet.

"Prove it," Lily hissed. "Maybe then you won't look like such a psychopath but just a spoiled little brat who needs to make everyone else feel small in order to feel significant."

"You wanna see a psychopath, look at your boy-toy!" James snarled.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lily screamed.

"It means that you're a -"

Sirius pulled James back by his elbow, forcing him to break eye contact with Lily, uttering a quiet, "James, don't."

The spell was broken, his words were lost, and he couldn't remember why he had been angry with Lily.

"No, say it! Tell me what you mean!" Lily demanded.

James couldn't say it. He couldn't believe the word had crossed his mind while looking at Lily let alone formed on his tongue. He felt immensely grateful for Sirius at the moment.

"You're blind. You can't see what Snape is," James said calmly, which was a lot easier to do now all the emotion was drained out of him.

"Like you're such a saint. And I'm blind? You can't even see past your -" Lily finished her sentence with an angry groan. "I'm done." She turned on the spot, threw her hands up in the air, and stomped to the girls' dormitories. "I'm just done."

James believed it. From now on he was going to be nothing more to her than Potter - the psychopathic, spoiled brat who bullies people just to feel good about himself.

"What the hell?" Eilidh hissed from somewhere behind him. He found that he couldn't turn around, his eyes were glued to the girls' dormitory steps.

"Just come on," Sirius grumbled and pulled James by a fist full of his shirt toward the boys' dormitory.


	27. Time to Pick a Side

Their dormitory was messier than Peter remembered leaving it. It looked like whatever happened to James happened in here. He was uncomfortably aware of how closely Eilidh was watching him, how her stare lingered momentarily on the scratches and bite marks on his hands and forearms, how she looked so concerned at James it was almost motherly yet there was something like contempt in her eyes as well.

There was something very wrong with James tonight. He looked faint, his face was gaunt, he swayed whenever he stood for a prolonged second, and his speech was slightly slurred when he wasn't yelling. When he moved his movements were twitchy, jumpy almost. It was like he was stuck in a strange limbo between consciousness and unconsciousness - the conscious part of him still in an adrenaline-fueled fight or flight response.

Sirius was being too gentle with him. He should be telling him to get his shit together, demanding to know why he hadn't defended himself against Evans. It was entirely un-Sirius-like to kick the clutter off his trunk before slowly easing James down on it then filling the plastic cup he kept on his bedside table only to press it into James's hand.

"Drink." It wasn't an order or even a request. Sirius was gently begging James to drink the water kind of like how he had casually begged him to go to the hospital wing on the other side of the portrait.

"Someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on?" Eilidh asked. Peter could tell that she had intended for her voice to sound stern and angry but it came out sickly instead like she was fighting the urge to vomit.

"He started it," James said, speaking to the air before he emptied the cup in one gulp. Sirius took it out of his hands and refilled it. "I was just walking past and he tripped me."

"There were seven of them," Sirius angrily told Eilidh but he still studied James with the amount of concentration only Sirius could use. Eilidh's mouth opened slightly and the anger he had seen before disappeared.

"James hold out your hands, flat like this." Eilidh held both hands out in front of her, palms down. There was a distinct nurturing warmth that radiated off of her that made Peter want to curl up and fall asleep.

James did as Eilidh showed him. His hands were shaking so furiously it reminded Peter of his neighbour's chihuahua. Eilidh fingered the silky blue ribbon she had tied around her waist and pulled out a phial of turquoise coloured liquid.

"Drink this. It's a Calming Draught. It'll help clear your head." Eilidh handed it over and James took it without protest. Sirius shot her a quizzical look. "Josie doesn't like parties. Especially when she feels she doesn't belong." Sirius nodded but Peter didn't think he really understood.

Instantly, whatever it was that made James so not-James melted away and he just looked tired. His eyelids drooped over his eyes so they were only half open, his squared shoulders slumped, and his shaking hands hung limply over the edge of the trunk like they were too heavy to hold up. Eilidh stepped forward quickly and grabbed James by his shirt collar to pull him up. Peter hadn't realised James had been falling.

"You all right?" Eilidh asked and James nodded blinking rapidly.

"I've never seen anyone react that way to a Calming Draught," Sirius said worriedly instead of suspiciously. Peter had missed the moment when Sirius decided to trust her.

"He was running on adrenaline until now. He'll be fine, just give him a second," Eilidh answered.

"'m fine," James mumbled.

"How 'bout we start with why you and James weren't at the party together?" Eilidh asked, finally releasing James. The nurturing tone to her voice was gone and was replaced by a professionally brisk one. She sounded like a detective and Peter hated detectives. However, he felt compelled to speak.

"We were pulling a prank," Peter answered.

"The niffler?" Eilidh asked though she already knew the answer. Peter and Sirius nodded. Sirius, for once, looked more guilty than him. "Thought as much. Go on."

"My cousin was there," Sirius said, "and Regulus had already yelled at me for not meeting her in Hogsmeade so I decided to go early. James was planning on coming after he got Peter and the niffler situated."

"He didn't want to go through the door. He thought it would be too obvious and the castle's full of secret passages so we split up to find one," Peter explained. He didn't think him actually finding a secret passage was important at the moment so he looked at James now because this was the extent he knew of James's night.

James jumped into the normal, fully-awake-James sitting position and cleared his throat, realizing that they were waiting for him.

"It was just Snape and Avery at first. They were leaning against the wall separated by the adjacent corridor. I didn't say anything, didn't even look at them, I had better things to do. Then Snape tripped me. I pushed him back and basically told him to bugger off. Then Avery pushed me down that corridor…. It's kind of a blur after that. There was too many curses to keep up with and I didn't know half of them. I remember duelling Snape and he hit me with something pretty freaking painful and I lost my wand so I just hit him and that's when…."

"Evans and I came," Sirius finished.

"Yeah," James said. He was staring at the shoe lying on its side between his and Remus's beds. "She screamed I think."

"I think you broke Snively's nose," Sirius growled but he was smiling proudly at James. James's body moved like he was laughing but no sound came with it.

"I think I broke my hand," James said, now examining his right hand; it was definitely fatter than his left and had angry purple and blue splotches forming on the knuckles.

"You forgot to fold your thumb," Eilidh said, gently holding James's swollen hand, turning slightly so she could see the thumb. "Yeah, you smashed it into your hand. You're lucky it's not dislocated but it's definitely broken. You have to fold your thumb."

She showed him what she meant using her own fist. She proceeded by telling him to keep his wrist straight, to hit with his body not just with his fists, to look at who he was hitting, and to not think about the pain. She repeated that last part so it must be important. Peter wondered for the first time what kind of life she led when she wasn't with the four of them. If James or Sirius had any questions they didn't ask so Peter didn't either.

"You should go to the hospital." Peter didn't know how this transition came about but Eilidh had suddenly become nurturing again.

"Nah." James shook his head and scrunched up his nose probably thinking of the nasty potions he'd be forced to take.

"You broke your wand hand, James," Eilidh said, fighting for reason. James merely shrugged. "You'll get to see Remus."

"I'm tired. He's really tired. We all just need to sleep," James said, beginning to crawl into the bed even though it wasn't his.

"Let me wrap it at least. Unless anyone else knows how to med bones?" Once again she asked a question she already knew the answer to but this time she wasn't expecting a response. She removed the silky ribbon from around her waist and wrapped it gently but firmly around the hand James held out for her. Sirius helped her remove his jacket and shoes. James fell asleep the minute his head hit the pillow.


	28. Trouble on the Way

It was the silence that woke him. Even at night while everyone was asleep, their dormitory was always somehow lively. With Remus snoring, Peter twisting about, and James mumbling incoherently there was usually some ambient noise to lull him back to sleep. This morning was different.

He was on the floor, to begin with, next to what would be his bed if James hadn't passed out in it the night before. His plush blanket, that was supposed to be under him to protect his elbows and ribs from the hardwood floor, was now on top and smothering him in heat. He rolled over and attempted to ignore the strangeness for the sake of a few more minutes of sleep. Through his eyelashes, he saw a river of brown hair, shining in the early morning sun and he was able to remember a few blurred images.

He remembered being angry and annoyed. He remembered dancing with Lily and being proud of her. He remembered running. Hearing the sickening crunch of breaking bones. James's slurred words and unfocused eyes.

Eilidh slept curled up across the room in last nights dress robes because they were supposed to be keeping an eye on James and it was his turn. He shot up, his head spinning as a wave of nausea hit him. His head ached horribly. He shouldn't have fallen asleep.

James appeared to be exactly as he last remembered seeing him. In fact, it was exactly the same as when they had put him to bed. The blanket was drawn over his torso, his arm securely at his sides, his mouth in a perfectly straight line across his face. He usually slept with his mouth gaping open, drool dampening his pillow. He was always sweaty in the morning but today he was perfectly dry.

"James?" Sirius murmured, poking into his shoulder hard. James didn't move. Sirius shook him roughly and spoke firmly, "James," before taking a step back. Surely this would cause some turmoil of a reaction.

"Wha's the matter?" Peter yawned, rubbing his eyes, sitting up in his bed.

"He won't wake up." Sirius's usually overactive mind had gone as still as James. He couldn't think of what to do.

Peter crossed the room, pointed his wand at James and said, "Aguamenti."

"Peter!" Sirius pulled Peter by his sleeve as water spewed from his wand onto James. He still didn't wake.

Stubbornly, Sirius stepped forward.

"Rennervate!"

James's body reacted to the spell then fell back, as still as ever.

"He - he's still breathing," Peter pointed out unnecessarily.

"Yes, Pete, he's not dead!" Sirius hissed angrily, his heart suddenly thundering in his chest. "We need to take him to Madam Pomfrey."

"How're we going to do that?" Peter asked, gazing at Sirius with a worried expression which only served to aid his agitation.

"It's a first-year spell, Peter," Sirius spat and with a swish and flick of his wand, the mattress rose to hover over the bed frame.

Peter dashed to hold the door open while Sirius pushed the mattress into motion, ripping the bed curtain in his haste.

Madam Pomfrey was not in the Hospital Wing. Sirius set James down on one of the hospital beds, pounded on the witch's office door at the end of the ward, and received no answer.

"What's the point of having a nurse if she's never fucking here?"

"I don't think Remus is here either," Peter said carefully, probably afraid of setting Sirius off again.

With effort Sirius held back a belittling 'so?' and instead, stared at Peter until he answered the unspoken question.

"Maybe she's taking him to the shack? It is a… full moon tonight," Peter mumbled.

"They should have a teacher take him. It's a hospital wing for Merlin's sake!" Sirius groaned, kicked the door, and then with a sudden burst of determinations pointed his wand to the handle. "Alohomora."

The office door swung open revealing a desk covered with large stacks of paper and bookshelves overstuffed with books on healing magic. Sirius strode for the biggest book in sight.

"Sirius are you sure-"

"Quiet, Peter," Sirius muttered, searching through the index but for what he hadn't the faintest idea.

"Sirius -"

"Shut up, Peter!"

"You three again! I told you yesterday they'll be no visiting Mr Lupin today. He's much too sick." It seemed that Madam Pomfrey had taken one look at Peter and had assumed that it was all three of them returning, against her repeated instructions, to visit Remus as they had done so often in the past. This time was different.

"It's James," Sirius said loudly so she could hear him from her office. He shoved the book back on its shelf and ran out. "He didn't wake up this morning."

"What do you mean?" Madam Pomfrey asked rather stupidly in Sirius's opinion but she appeared to be positively perplexed by this.

"Exactly what I said," Sirius snapped. "You should have a teacher take Remus out, people don't plan emergencies!"

For one measly second Madam Pomfrey's expression contorted with anger. Then, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm.

"Where is your friend?" she asked patiently. Sirius pointed to where he had left James's unmoving body and watched as Madam Pomfrey pry his eyelids open and take his pulse.

"One of you needs to tell me exactly what happened. The other, go fetch Professor Slughorn. I do hope he's awake at this hour." Madam Pomfrey's voice came out constricted and professional which was not reassuring.

"I'll get Slughorn," Peter muttered and with a quick worried glance at Sirius scurried out of the ward.

Sirius told her of every blurred image he could remember from dancing with Lily to putting James to bed. He skipped over their argument in the common room, considering it unimportant.

"Where did your friend get the calming draught?" Pomfrey questioned. Sirius didn't know. Eilidh had seemed so sure of what to do at the time he didn't think to question it.

Pomfrey sighed irritably and shook her head.

"Go get Professor McGonagall."

"I'm staying with James," Sirius stated, defiantly. Madam Pomfrey held her carefully fixed expression this time though her voice was more stern than patient.

"As Head of Gryffindor house, it is her-"

"Poppy?"

Sirius had never before been particularly happy to see Slughorn but he was grateful to see him striding quickly through the ward.

"I was hoping you could help with the Rontgen Powder?" Madam Pomfrey scurried around James's bed to a pantry and pulled out a small pouch very like the ones used to carry Floo Powder.

"What's Rontgen Powder?" Sirius asked, taking a small step closer to James.

"New healing magic," Slughorn explained, "used to see beneath the skin." Slughorn rolled up his sleeves, his eyes scrutinizing Sirius under thick, frowned eyebrows. "I do believe I have a bone to pick with you, Mr Black."

"But why do you need to use that powder stuff on James?" Sirius questioned, ignoring Slughorn's change of topic. The prank was so trivial in comparison Sirius wondered how he could even think of it.

"James will be fine, my boy, it's just to make sure everything is operating properly," Slughorn said breezily, accepting the pouch from Madam Pomfrey.

"Please get Professor McGonagall," she said firmly, then to Slughorn, "where's the other one?"

"I sent him to get the friend," muttered Slughorn, sprinkling gold powder over James. It hovered a few inches over his body, swirling into wispy swirls before taking the form of James's muscles.

"The Calming Draught?" Pomfrey asked.

Slughorn nodded, almost absentmindedly, his fingers twitching oddly. The powder began to swirl again this time forming into a million lines, each one alive with some sort of pulsing current. It swirled again and reformed into James's skeletal system.

"Professor McGonagall!" Pomfrey hissed, pointing a harsh finger at the door.

Sirius reluctantly moved forward, keeping a watchful eye over his shoulder as he went. The powder had taken the form of James's organs. Slughorn picked up the gold brain and twisted it, to see it from different angles. Slughorn split the brain in halves, then in fourths.

"Ah! Here, Poppy." He pointed at a spot on James's floating brain. He didn't look worried. Neither did Madam Pomfrey as she murmured in agreement so Sirius opened the door with a smaller amount of reluctance.

"Oi! Fistie!" The first year he had spotted, probably making her way to breakfast, jumped and spun around. "You know where McGonagall's office is?" She nodded. "Go get her then!"

"Is everything alright?" the first year asked, looking more curious than concerned.

"Go get McGonagall!" Sirius barked and she jumped again but this time she started for McGonagall's office, muttering along the way.

"What happened to James's brain?" Sirius demanded after making sure the hospital's doors were safely shut behind him. The last thing they needed now was rumours flying around about James.

"He's been concussed," Pomfrey said shortly. "Now really, go -"

"I've sent a first year to get her," Sirius argued, moving closer to James so he could see their work. They were still working with the powder but it now resembled a magnified spider's web rather than a brain. He chewed on the skin around his thumb. He's had a concussion before, it hadn't turned out like this.

"We need Professor Haas. I don't want to pull him out if it was a curse that sent him into it," Pomfrey said, attempting to speak quietly so Sirius wouldn't hear.

"Into what? What's wrong with him?" The only curse that Sirius ever heard of that could make someone so unresponsive was the killing curse. He had to remind himself that James was still breathing.

"Oh!" Madam Pomfrey growled.

"Sirius," Professor Slughorn draped an arm around his shoulders and led him across the room. "How 'bout you come with me to wake Professor Haas and we can discuss what happened to your friend a little more, hmm?"

Sirius wriggled himself free from Slughorn's grasp and took a few steps back out of his reach.

"There's nothing to discuss! The Slytherins targeted James and now he's in the Hospital wing. Apparently concussed!" Sirius turned to Madam Pomfrey for more answers. Something was not adding up.

Pomfrey turned completely around to face him, all patience drained from her expression.

"Mr Black." Professor McGonagall stood at the end of the ward, her hands on her hips, her lips pressed into a thin disapproving line. "This is a Hospital Wing, not a circus. If you cannot keep your voice down, you will be forced to leave the premises. Poppy, what's happened here?"

"It's the Potter boy. His parents need to be contacted," Madam Pomfrey answered, once again at work, "and Professor Haas needs to be sent for."

"I'll get Professor Haas," said Slughorn. "He's on my way to the Headmaster's office."

"Come with me, Sirius," McGonagall voice had softened considerably but was still firm. "Madam Pomfrey needs to work."

Sirius sent James one last desperate look then followed McGonagall out.

The Potters had been contacted and were scheduled to arrive by portkey shortly after first period. Sirius's story had been told and defended three consecutive times: First to McGonagall then to Dumbledore, and lastly to Abbott's father who happened to be on the Board of Governors. Sirius found the possibility of Abbott not being expelled because of this fact both redundant and infuriating and was planning on addressing the issue to Dumbledore after James got better.

Sirius and Peter had been locked out of the Hospital Wing and were currently sat against its doors staring blankly down the empty corridor. Occasionally, they'd hear the echoed voices of a class answering in unison, or Professor Haas's carrying voice as he, unnecessarily, interrogated Eilidh about her Calming Draught. Professor Slughorn was already dissecting its remains on the off chance that it had been tampered with.

Eilidh's dorm mates showed up after breakfast offering smuggled toast and bacon. Except for Lily but Sirius didn't ask why. Mostly because he couldn't think of anything agreeable to say about her at the moment.

Mary informed them that James's condition sounded a lot like what happened to her aunt after a car crash, something muggles called a coma. Peter's and Josie's reactions to this news were worrying. They both became rather sombre, in fact, Peter looked a little pale. Marlene, on the other hand, became overly chipper.

"Did Madam Pomfrey say when he was going to wake up?"

"No, she just said that he was fine."

"That's good! Pomfrey's never been wrong before."

They excused themselves rather quickly after that.

Peter and Sirius were told to go to class by multiple professors but neither seemed too inclined to obey the order.

"We'll go to class after his parents get here. That way he has someone there for him in case he wakes up," Peter said decidedly.

"When he wakes up," Sirius said firmly. As long as Madam Pomfrey insisted that James was fine, he refused to believe any different.

"I only meant in case he wakes up while we're in class not… that."

Eilidh showed up looking ghostly pale and on the verge of either vomiting or crying, her eyes glued to the wall behind them.

"What'd he say?" asked Peter.

"Slughorn said the potion was clean, it hadn't been tampered with," she answered quietly.

"It took him that long to figure that out," Sirius scoffed.

"It still could have been what -" she took in a ragged breath and shook her head. "I'm going to change out of these robes. I'll be back."

"I hope he wasn't too hard on her," Peter muttered, sinking back into the wall.

Sirius had the sudden need to pace.

Eilidh didn't return for quite some time but when she did it was with a stack of books at least as tall as she was.

"I've been to the library," she told them unnecessarily, using the wall to balance the books on her knee. "These were all the books I could find on healing magic and brain injuries. Be on the lookout for Madam Wryn, she had murder in her eyes when I last saw her."

"Mary said he's in a coma," Sirius said, accepting the book she handed to him. Eilidh looked shocked for a moment then her books fell with an echoing clatter. She dropped to the floor, hiding her face behind her hair. "She said her aunt had the same symptoms," Sirius pressed.

Eilidh stacked her books one on top of the other loudly, trying to down out his voice. Sirius reached to catch her hands. She stilled instantly, took a deep, calming breath, then spoke in a monotonous voice:

"I'm not sure what happened to Mary's aunt but her brother is actually her cousin. Her parents adopted him a few years back."

"People don't usually make it out of comas," Peter added, ominously.

"When they do it's considered a miracle," Eilidh agreed.

"We're wizards!" Sirius yelled angrily. He tired of people acting like James was already dead, like he was done for. "We have magic! You ever hear of a wizard dying of influenza? It's the same thing!"

Eilidh nodded in agreement, used her wand to pin up her hair, curled up against the wall, and dove into a book. "To be fair muggles don't die from influenza anymore."

Sirius scowled at her before realizing that she was joking.

"We should be discussing what we're going to do to the Slytherins when James wakes up." Sirius flipped through the book she had given him without looking at the pages.

"We could set their dormitory on fire," Peter muttered angrily to the window. "With them inside it."

"We could break the glass separating them from the Black Lake and flood them out," Sirius suggested.

"The squid could eat the survivors," Peter grinned.

"I wonder if he likes the taste of snakes?" Sirius added cruelly.

"You're being disgusting and not any better than them." Eilidh glared at both Sirius and Peter.

Sirius had to laugh. She acting too much like Lily Evans for his taste.

"And what would you suggest, princess?" he mocked. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Wait it out. See what Dumbledore does and go from there."

"And why would we do that?" Sirius demanded.

"Because, Sirius, if we do something now it's going to make Dumbledore less inclined to expel them," she answered testily. "Right now it looks like Death Eaters targeting a blood traitor. If we do something it'll look like the age-old feud between Gryffindor and Slytherin getting out of hand. Again. Which will make our punishment more severe and Abbott and his Costellos will still be in school."

Sirius could only stare at her. He was reluctant to admit that she was right but that usually was how things worked out.

"You sure you're not in Slytherin?" Peter asked.

"Fuck off," Eilidh groaned, returning to her book.

"I'm just saying, that was a rather cunning plan," Peter continued.

"My parents are pretty manipulative so I guess I picked up a few things," Eilidh said to her book.

"And what about Lily?" Sirius asked, simply to fulfil his need to argue.

"What about her?" she asked, sounding indifferent but she became noticeably stiff.

"James would be here if it were her," Sirius said defensively.

"She's not James," Eilidh said simply.

"Well, that's obvious," Sirius scoffed.

"You'd think it would be," Eilidh muttered, loudly turning the page.

"She doesn't deserve him," Sirius pressed.

"I'm not going to argue about this with you," she bit back with the look of warning Sirius had learned to take seriously.

"Fine," he sneered and they fell silent, reading the books that would do nothing more than pass the time.

"You can do what you want Albus. Right now I'm going to see my son," came Mrs Potter's strong, clear, and fearful voice, drifting down the corridor. Moments later she rounded the corner with both Professor Dumbledore and Mr Potter at her heels. Sirius abandoned his book and scrambled to his feet.

"Sirius, how are you?" Mrs Potter asked as Professor Dumbledore unlocked the doors to let them in. Mr Potter gave a short smile, his face lined with distress.

"Bit worried, honestly," Sirius admitted. He was happy to see that James looked more alive than he had hours ago though he was still dormant.

"We all are dear," Mrs Potter said sweetly with a hand on his cheek.

"James will be fine," Sirius said firmly for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"Of course he will. He's our James." Mrs Potter said lightly, scurrying forward to James's bedside.

Mr Potter smiled softly while resting a heavy hand on Sirius's shoulder. With the presence of the Potters finally bringing some relief to his rather tense morning, Sirius was able to smile back.

Madam Pomfrey explained James's condition to all of them though she never said the word 'coma.' She also said she expected James to wake up at any moment.

"It's all up to him in the end," she added, glancing at James with an indiscernible expression.

Mr Potter made arrangements for him and his wife at the Three Broomsticks while Mrs Potter settled comfortably in the chair beside James's bed.

Professor Dumbledore explained that nothing could be done until he heard both sides of the story which sounded like utter rubbish but no one said anything.

"I should… get to class," Eilidh said awkwardly, already making her way toward the door.

"I'll let you know when he wakes up," Sirius told her. She nodded then scurried her way out.

"Was that Lily?" Mrs Potter whispered.

"No, that's Eilidh. A friend," Sirius answered.

"Sirius's girlfriend," Peter added, smirking.

"Shut up, Peter," Sirius growled.

Mrs Potter smiled benignly then turned to stroke her son's hair.

"You know he never got sick when he was little. He fell through ice in the dead of winter and only had a small cough the next day." used her free hand to wipe her eyes, then laughed, "he could never sit still! He was such a good boy. Oh, he would hate this!"

Sirius froze. He had reached uncharted territory and had no idea how to react. Peter looked just as frightfully out of place as Sirius felt, he thought of James.

"He'll be fine," he said, resting a hand on Mrs Potter's shoulder in what he hoped to be a comforting manner. "You heard Madam Pomfrey."

"Oh I know," she smiled at him, taking his hand and giving it a light squeeze. "I just hate to think that he's suffering."

Mrs Potter never left James's bedside, she never let go of James's hand, not even when Mr Potter tried to convince her to get some rest at the three broomsticks. It was almost midnight when Sirius and Peter left under strict orders from McGonagall. Eilidh was watching the fire slowly die out in the Common Room when they arrived.

"I couldn't sleep," she explained.

"Nothing's changed," Sirius grumbled.

The three of them sat there silently waiting for the sun to rise.

They ran into Hagrid in the morning, coming out of the Hospital wing carrying a handful of potions in his dustbin lid sized hands.

"All righ', you three?" he greeted with a cheery smile.

"All right, Hagrid? How's Remus?" Sirius returned.

"Oh, he's -"

"Hagrid!" Madam Pomfrey stuck her head through the door, interrupting Hagrid's response. "Where's Albus?"

"Mum!" came James's exasperated voice.

"Is that-?"

"Yes, he's awake. Go in and say hello. Hagrid, do you know where Albus is?" Pomfrey repeated.

The three of them didn't hear where the Headmaster was. They had bustled past the two and burst into the ward. James was being smothered in kisses from his mother.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Jamie!" Mrs Potter hugged his head to her chest.

"Can't...breathe!"

Mrs Potter released him, cupped his face between her soft, plump hands to smile at him for a moment then kissed his forehead.

"I'm going to write your father. Will you be alright here with your friends?"

"Yes, Mum," James answered in a patient voice.

"I'll bring some breakfast with me when I come back."

"Thank you, Mum."

"Alright," Mrs Potter gave James one last loving look. "Morning dears."

"Good Morning," the three of them echoed, watching as she left the hospital.

"Do I have lipstick on my face?" James asked, rubbing his hand against his cheek.

"It's hardly noticeable" Sirius answered, taking the other side of James's bed.

"Besides, you can just tell everyone it's from a girl. That's not your mum," Peter added.

"Do you think anyone would believe that it was, Lily?" James grinned.

"Not a chance," Peter laughed. Sirius bit his tongue. This was an argument that could wait.

"What's eating you?" James asked, peering around Peter. Eilidh was standing by the door, teary-eyed. "I was only joking. I wouldn't actually go around saying I kissed Lily Evans. I'm not that much of a prat."

"I know," She said thickly, rubbing the heel of her palm into her eye. "I'm just glad that you're awake."

James sent a questioning look at Sirius. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"I think this side's a little low on lipstick if you wanted to…," James smirked at her, tapping one of his cheeks with his forefinger. Eilidh chuckled but quickly grew sombre.

"James," she started, " I know you probably want to blame the Slytherins for this-"

"What are you on about?" James asked. "I do blame the Slytherins. I told you what happened."

"Yes but-"

"But nothing, it's their fault," Sirius said, firmly.

"It was the Calming Draught-"

"Who told you that?" Sirius demanded. Eilidh shrugged and looked at the floor. "Whatever. It's a load of rubbish. You were trying to help."

"James-"

"He's right, you know," James told her.

"I'm just sorry," Eilidh said quickly before she could be interrupted again.

"You're not forgiven. Now, get over here and make awful jokes about Snivellus with us," James said bruskly, patting the side of his bed that Sirius was not on Eilidh sighed, shook her head and did as she was told.

"Did you guys remember to do that thing last night? And this morning?" James asked Sirius and Peter.

"There was too much going on," Peter mumbled

"Your mum kind of reminded us, last minute, when she mentioned Remus." Sirius chuckled.

"Do we know how he is?" James asked.

"Hagrid was taking him his potions this morning," Eilidh answered.

"Suppose that's a good sign," James nodded, glancing out the window. "He doesn't know about this yet, does he?"

"Pete and I decided it'd be too much for him at the moment," Sirius said.

"Good. So what are we going to do about our snakey friends?" James grinned mischievously. Eilidh rolled her eyes.

"Sirius and Peter already have a few plans involving fire and the giant squid."

James, Sirius, and Peter laughed.

"Maybe we could combine the two," James suggested.

"Brilliant," Sirius beamed.


	29. Listen to the Music

***Warning: Drinking and magical drug use. If this is a problem for you, let me know and I'll update you on all important plot events.

Disclaimer: I do NOT condone anything any character may or may not do. This is not me saying that these things are cool. Please be responsible and rational and don't let a fanfiction lead you down the wrong path. Stay safe, be smart.

Enjoy. :D***

 

There were a few small changes in James that no one felt the need to point out. For instance, he was now either very sensitive to noises or incredibly jumpy. Whatever the reason, the boys were careful to not make any sudden unexpected noise by setting down their books on their bedside tables instead of tossing them to the side without care of where they landed.

They hadn't noticed it at first, because on the surface James was still the bright, cheerful, talkative, boy they had come to love but, he was also a bit quieter than usual. They noticed it that night, alone in their dormitory, Peter and Sirius were tossing a quaffle (that had mysteriously appeared in their mess), across the room to see who could make it bounce off the most strewn items and still make it into the bin. Their conversation meant nothing but it had an air of meaning everything. It was the kind of conversation James could easily integrate himself into but he hadn't. He had muttered a few yeahs and gave the occasional grunt of laughter but then slid easily into the background, completely unnoticed. Until it wasn't.

James was their rock, the glue that held their friendship together, so when conversations fell apart, he was there to pull it back because he meant everything. He was not supposed to place himself across the room, his head resting against his fourposter, his face void of emotion, his eyes forlorn and angry - that was Sirius's thing. James didn't get to curl himself into a ball, his hands tucked under his knees, looking small and fragile - that was Remus's thing.

So Peter did his thing. He crossed the room and sat next to him, quiet and present. James looked up, his face twitched into an almost smile. Sirius felt incredibly distant like he was watching them from the opposite end of a very long tunnel.

"I don't know what to do." James's voice came clear and easy, just like his yeahs.

"You don't have to do anything," Peter said, simply, like this was the answer to everything. James breathed loudly out of his nose, not turning to look at either of them.

"Do about what?" Sirius said finally. James looked up, his eyes searching, then, finally, he unfolded himself. He looked so much more like James now, untouchable and ever-present.

"If we wait, we look weak. If we don't then they stay," James said.

Sirius nodded his agreement. James had a frequent talent for putting his feelings into words, sometimes even before he recognised the feeling himself.

"It doesn't matter now. Remus gets out tomorrow, we'll talk about it then." James said decidedly. Sirius didn't think there was anything to talk about. Expelled or not, they simply could not appear to be afraid of them. They couldn't hide in Hogwarts forever.

"Why don't we sneak down to the kitchen? See if they have any leftover pudding?" Peter suggested, eager to change the conversation.

"I'm hungry anyway," James mumbled, grabbing his cloak.

Sirius was simply happy for the excuse to get out of the dormitory; it seemed like a rather small room all of the sudden. What was more, the house elves would know more about what the staff was planning on doing about all this. As Andy always said, 'the elves always know.'

They did not, however, make their way to the kitchen upon exiting their dormitory. They were too distracted by a loud noise issuing from a nearby room. They could feel the beat of the music underfoot as they approached. They almost collided with Adrian Longbottom as he was pushed out of the room wearing only pants and socks, one on his foot, the other on his hand.

"I got two! Three!" he shouted, grabbing the boys in turn by their shirt sleeves and throwing them into the cheering crowd.

"That was fast," someone muttered.

"What's going on?" James shouted at Adrian.

"A party!" Adrian shouted back, accepting a blue drink from an odd looking, bespeckled, Hufflepuff boy, fifth year. "What's this one do?" he asked the kid.

"It's a hallucinogenic. It has a small dose of Alihotsy," the Hufflepuff answered.

"And what does that mean in drunk and stupid?" Adrian asked. The Hufflepuff rolled his eyes and attempted to share a look with them.

"It'll take you to another planet," he answered.

"Aces," Adrian said then chugged the liquid down.

"Zack Seligmann," the Hufflepuff held out his hand to greet the three of them. Peter took it, probably because the moment was getting too awkward with Sirius and James staring at it like it carried dragon pox. Adrian fell, face first, into a beanbag chair. "What can I get for you gents?"

"Absolutely nothing," James said. There was an unspoken agreement between him and Sirius that this bloke was not to be trusted. What Sirius wondered was, who actually trusted him?

"Where's the host?" Sirius asked. Zack Seligmann shrugged then point toward the clearing in the centre of the room.

"Pevensie invited me. Said he and his mates were throwing a party and wanted to take things up a notch. I'd take you over there but, er, duty calls." Seligmann smirked and nodded toward a gang of giggling girls in the corner. "Ladies!"

"Interesting," James said, watching Seligmann for a moment then blinked and turned toward the clearing. "Pevensie! What happened to my invitation?"

"Mate, you don't need an invitation," Pevensie smirked, waving a dramatic hand around the room, the girl in his lap almost toppled over. She shrieked and giggled as Gabe helped her straighten. "You're welcome anytime."

It was a strange group. Normally, Gabe surrounded himself with Gryffindors like his dorm mates and the Quidditch team, his girlfriend, and maybe a few Hufflepuffs. However, it seemed like Gabe had friends from everywhere. Persephone Machault from Slytherin was dancing with Mary Macdonald and a kid from Ravenclaw. Alice and Frank were very open about their relationship which seemed to be making another Ravenclaw very uncomfortable. Even Eilidh was there, sitting on a bed with Gabe's dorm mate Adam, laughing while he… read her palm? Sirius didn't really know how he felt about it. He did feel a little nauseous but that could have been from the heat of the room. She was just sitting there, on a bed, while some bloke held her hand and she laughed her arse off like whatever he had to say was the funniest thing in the world. And suddenly he was striding forward, feeling very purposeful but he had no idea what he was planning on doing.

"Oh, hey," she grinned when she saw him. "Did you know that Adam can read palms?"

"Can he?" Sirius glared at Adam until he chucked awkwardly and let go of her hand.

"Yup. He said I have an excellent heart line." Eilidh turned to grin at Adam.

"Your heart must be in outstanding condition. How 'bout I fix you two up with some drinks, huh?" Adam stood and clapped his hands together. "Any requests?"

"Surprise me," Eilidh smiled. Adam nodded and made a show of turning toward Sirius.

"I'm good," he said, giving a wry smile.

"Mate, relax. It's a party. Drink something. Disconnect from life for a bit," Adam told him, reaching to tousle his hair.

Sirius dodged him. "I'm good," he repeated, all pleasantries in his previous attitude out the window.

"Okay," Adam drawled, awkwardly, and sauntered away.

Eilidh looked at Sirius curiously. Sirius tried to look like he wasn't angry. He didn't think he should be angry. They were just talking. They could have been friends for he all he knew.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a concerned, almost panicked sort of way. "Did something happen?"

"Nah," Sirius shrugged, taking Adam's seat.

"James is alright?" she asked.

"He's… fine. Bit upset but -" Sirius was interrupted by a loud whooping from James. What he was cheering for was disrupted from the crowd but he looked happy which was nice to see given all the stress recently. "Nevermind."

"So, James is fine. You're fine. What is it then?" she asked.

"Nothing," he shrugged then looked down at her hand. "I mean, you might want to watch out for those seventh years. They're… you know, experienced."

"Experienced?" she said, bewildered, then she laughed. "Adam is Marlene's brother!"

"Adam McK- I feel like I should have known that," Sirius said, feeling especially foolish now.

"Yeah, well, now you do," she laughed.

"Still, he wouldn't have pointed out your outstanding heart line for nothing," Sirius said, feeling a little defensive.

"I-" Eilidh started to argued but sighed heavily instead and jumped to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked quickly.

"To talk to someone who doesn't frustrate the hell out of me. I don't want to fight tonight, Sirius," she hissed, her words barely audible over the music.

"Well, you seemed to be having a great time with Adam McKinnon. It might be difficult to talk to him at the moment as his mouth is preoccupied," Sirius snarled, gesturing towards Adam snogging some unidentifiable girl in the corner of the room.

"That's okay. Evan Holland asked me to the ball a few weeks ago and I think I saw him here so -"

Sirius caught her just before she fell out of reach and spun her around.

"You know we're going to that together," he said, obviously. She was playing games with him and he didn't have the temperament for it.

"No, I didn't know that," she snarled, ripping her arm from his grasp. "How the fuck would I know that?"

"Because I - it's kind of obvious considering…." Sirius trailed off, unable to put his thoughts into words with the music pounding in his ears and the people rushing around him and Eilidh glaring at him.

"Considering what?" she challenged. Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her back toward the bed where it less crowded.

"Considering I asked you out," he said, sternly.

"You asked me to Hogsmeade, which is completely different by the way, and then you act like nothing's changed. We're still just friends. We were even at Slughorn's party at the same time and you didn't speak to me all evening. But you danced with Lily, which is way more than you reading her palm! And then, you take James to the Hospital and you don't even tell me! I woke up to an empty room, a mattress completely gone, and then Peter comes running up barely able to speak. All he says is Hospital, over and over - do you know how scared I was?"

"Hang on, what exactly are you angry about?" Sirius's head was spinning trying to keep up with her. These were all very separate events for him, some of them he couldn't even remember precisely. Eilidh closed her eyes, took a deep breath, bit her lip, and then smiled at him.

"Nothing," she said.

"Ok, great, fantastic. I do want to go to that stupid ball with you. In fact, if it weren't for you I wouldn't even consider going to the stupid ball. Second, I didn't talk to you because I was drunk, I was with my family and no one wants to be dragged into that mess. I danced with Lily because, I don't remember why it had something to do with Lestrange. And you cannot fucking blame me for taking James to the Hospital. He was not waking up! I panicked. Then I got stuck with McGonagall and Dumbledore." Sirius stopped there, realising he was beginning to yell. Eilidh looked significantly calmer.

"Just yell my name the next time there's an emergency like that, okay," she said, looking a little sheepish. "And, God, if you think your family's a mess," she laughed.

"You remember meeting Andy, right?" he chuckled. At the reminder, her face fell and she tried to cover it up by tucking her hair behind her ear.

"At least your mum doesn't have any secret bastard children," she smirked.

"Oh, that would explain so much about me, though," Sirius laughed.

"King James!" James hollered, swinging on one of the four poster bedposts while a small crowd cheered. Great. He was drunk. It was probably not the best thing James could do in light of recent events. Eilidh shook her head and chuckled at him so it couldn't be too bad.

"We are going to that ball together, right?" Sirius asked, for the clarification that she obviously needed. Eilidh froze mid-laugh and looked up at him.

"I-I can't dance," she said.

"You can't -" someone stumbled past and pushed her into him. "Everyone can dance," he said, helping her regain her balance. She shook her head frantically.

"Look at those fuckers! It's so awkward it's adorable," James crooned, still hanging from the bedpost. Every head turned in their direction. Eilidh's fingers dug into his arm painfully.

"Aw, did Black get himself a girlfriend?" Pevensie cooed.

"They're practically married," James said.

"That's adorable," Gabe said, staggering ominously to his feet. "But you know what -"

"Eilidh, didn't we have to -" Sirius started, looking to her for assistance.

"Yes, absolutely!" Eilidh smiled and started for the door. Gabe caught them both by the back of their shirts.

"I think little Sirius needs some help in the romance department," Gabe smirked. The crowd cheered. And with little time to stop it, they were being roughly corralled into the wardrobe. The door slammed painfully against Sirius's outstretched hand.

They looked at each other by the sliver of light spilling in through the crack between the doors. Butterflies were nothing - they were child's play compared to this.

"At least they can't see us in here," Sirius smiled, attempting to ease his own tension as well as hers. Eilidh sucked in a deep breath and looked away.

"Lily is going to find out about this. She is going to be so pissed that I didn't tell her," she said.

"You haven't told her?" Sirius asked, incredulously. They had agreed to tell James and Lily separately, while things were good, which meant they had to do it as soon as possible. He was under the impression that that little piece of drama was already taken care of.

"Did you lock them in the closet?" Creswell giggled.

"We're helping," Gabe argued. "Right, Sirius?"

"Let us out," Sirius ordered, "or I'll help you right into an early grave!"

"I was nervous. I want her to like you," Eilidh whispered over Gabe's booming laugh. She still avoided his eye as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"We'll let you out when you two kiss!" James shouted.

"I am going to kill him," Eilidh muttered, a subtle blush tinting her cheeks, as the crowd started chanting for them to kiss. Sirius turned away, trying to hide his smirk as he didn't think it would help lift her mood at the moment.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Sirius is a gentleman. He needs to get married first," Gabe said. The crowd cheered in agreement.

"What an arse," Eilidh grumbled, leaning against the back of the wardrobe.

"He's better when he's sober," Sirius muttered though he couldn't help but agree. If Gabe was truly trying to help, he could have picked a more romantic setting than a wardrobe riddled with mothballs and stuffy coats.

"Cresswell, take it away," Gabe announced. Cresswell giggled, fell into the wardrobe, jostling them a bit, and cleared his throat.

"Dearly beloved, we'd be gathered here today on this day of holy matrimony. Because they're getting married in the closet."

"Skip to the end!" Sirius demanded.

"Do you - who's in there again?" Cresswell asked.

"I do! She does! We all do! Say I now pronounce you husband and wife," Sirius prompted.

"I, by the power vested in me by the Gryffindor Quidditch team Captain, that's me…. What was I saying?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Sirius grumbled. He attempted to kick the door open but Cresswell was laying on it. Eilidh sighed heavily.

"James!" she yelled. "How are you supposed to know if we kissed or not? We could just lie."

"You wouldn't do that Nicnevin. You're too good," James said.

"I would," Sirius argued.

"Oh, shit, yeah," James mumbled. "We let them out so they can kiss!"

As the crowd cheered, Eilidh took out her wand and pointed it at the door, prepared to hex the first person she saw.

"Eilidh they're our friends," Sirius reminded.

"Right now they're a bunch of drunken arseholes who locked us in a closet," she said through clenched teeth. Sirius was about to argue more but the door opened with only enough time for him to fling himself in front of her and push the first person he could get his hands on out of the way. He reached back to grab her hand and pulled her out into the hall.

"See. No need for magic," he smirked.

"You left James," Eilidh said, looking incredibly annoyed.

"Right." Sirius peaked his head back into the room, spotted James, and pulled him out.

"Hey!" James protested as he found his balance again. "I thought you wanted me to lighten up. I don't have to do anything, remember?"

"That wasn't me. Speaking of, where's Peter?" Sirius asked.

"That prat left. Said he was going to vomit," James said, trying to head back to the party.

"James," Eilidh said, gently placing her hand on his chest, "Peter needs you."

James blinked at her, looking confused for a second. "Okay." He slung an arm around her shoulder and lead her down the hall. "You should have kissed him," he whispered, loudly.

"Next time," Eilidh smiled. "Right now, we need to take you and Peter to see Madam Pomfrey again. Isn't that fun?"

"Why?" James pouted.

"Because if Peter's vomiting that means he drank too much. Or worse," Eilidh added under her breath.

"And you've been drinking who knows what right after you've had a brain injury," Sirius added.

"Z-man said it was good for the brain," James argued. "Said it spurts the energy."

"And how do you feel now?" Sirius asked.

"I want to take a nap," James said, starting to lay down right there on the floor taking Eilidh with him. "I'm gonna take a nap right here."

"Okay," Eilidh grumbled, working herself out from under his arms. "We need to see Pomfrey first."

"Nope. I'm not going out there. Slytherins everywhere with their wands and their magic." James rambled.

"Mate, you could have kicked all of their arses. You just needed a second to plant your feet," Sirius said.

"I didn't know any of it. I was useless. I could have died. I couldn't do anything," James breathed, staring unseeingly at the opposite wall, curled up on the ground looking very small and helpless indeed.

"We wouldn't have let you die, James," Eilidh whispered, combing his hair out of his eyes. James breathed heavily and sniffled.

"If you hadn't have come, I would have died," James said.

"Nah, man, you had it, I saw, I just wanted in on the action," Sirius said, hoping he sounded reassuring but in all honesty, James was scaring him. He had never seen anyone act like this, much less someone like James.

James sighed heavily and closed his eyes, a small tear falling out and running along the edge of his nose. "You two have to stop being weird so we can all stay friends."

"We're always going to be friends, you prat," Eilidh said, attempting to make him laugh. It didn't work.

"Alright, James, if we do this, you have to go to Pomfrey without complaining," Sirius said, kneeling on the floor in front of them. James sniffled and partially sat up.

"Do what?" he asked. Sirius sighed because this wasn't the way he wanted to do things. He was supposed to take her on a date first. It should have been a romantic setting. But then there she was.

He wanted to kiss her. Sirius had only once wanted - no, not wanted but longed to kiss anyone and it had been her then too. This time they were kneeling on the uncomfortably hard floor, comforting his best friend who was scared out of his wits for his life. Other than that it was exactly the same. Staring into her eyes. Her brown, dark, so very deep eyes. They seemed endless now and alive in the light of the candle's flame. He could hear his own heart beating. His throat was constricting. His stomach was in knots. Her eyes looked just as excited and bright as they had when she had whispered, kiss me. But this time he did it.

He was planning on just a gentle and quick peck but he lingered, drawn in by that floral scent she always wore. All of the sudden he was wondering why he had ever questioned this, why had they ever been anything other than what they were right there in that moment, with his knee digging into the hardwood floor, his hand cramping to keep his balance, and her hair tickling his cheek. She whimpered softly. It was a sound he couldn't get out of his head.

James laughed, it was a low and breathy chuckle but it was still a laugh. He smiled at Sirius, a rare genuine smile, and nodded in approval.

"We going to Pomfrey's now?" Eilidh asked, the threat of a smile on her lips.

"Yeah," James said, reaching into his pocket. "I've got my cloak."

"I don't think King James needs to hide under an Invisibility Cloak," Eilidh said. James made an odd breathy laugh, almost like he was embarrassed, then smiled proudly.

"Right," James said, tucking the cloak back in his pocket and using the wall to get to his feet. "James Potter doesn't need that cloak. Not with his friends by his side."

"You, my friend, are the worst kind of drunk," Sirius said, pulling James's arm over his shoulder, just in case.

"I'm not drunk. I'm high. On a potion made by a weird kid. Hey, we should remember him when we throw our parties," James said, leading the way down the stairs. "Z-man."

"Seligmann. And let's try not to take potions made by random beady-eyed blokes," Sirius said, cringing a little at how much he sounded like Remus.

"He won't be random if we got to know him," Eilidh said, unhelpfully.

"Exactly. We need backup for your b - " James broke off to blink at something ahead of them. "Peter?"

"I hate firewhiskey," Peter groaned, shifting slightly from where he was curled up on the stairs. "I hate parties. Why do people do this? I don't feel good James."

"Did you throw up yet?" James asked, jumping into action. He climbed over Peter so he could sit in front of him and waved his finger so Peter would follow it around.

"No," Peter moaned, knocking James's hand away.

"Come on, Pete, we'll take you someplace to make you feel better," Eilidh said, taking hold of his arm and gesturing for James to do the same.

"No," Peter wriggled himself free of their grasps. "I want to stay here. I want to sleep. I want pizza. And breakfast. Pizza breakfast."

"Then we'll take you to the kitchen," Sirius said, nudging Eilidh to the side so he could take her place. "I'm sure the house elves will be happy to make you pizza breakfast."

"With scrambled eggs and bacon? Oh, and those things the French make with the -" Peter waved his hand around in a circle making whooshing noises. "Those look so good!" he chuckled.

"Mate, we can get you whatever you want, just walk," James said, struggling to adjust Peter's arm around his shoulder.

"James, please be careful. I don't want you hitting your head," Eilidh said.

"I'm not gonna -" James stumbled on the last step and used the wall to break his fall, thankfully not hitting his head.

Peter pulled himself away from both of them, slapped both of them in the chest, and smiled smugly. "I got this." He took two steps forward and tripped on thin air, falling over the back of the couch.

"You're an absolute mess, Pete," Sirius laughed. "Eilidh you take James, I'll take this shit show."

"I'm not a sh… I'm about to be a barf show," Peter laughed, looking a little dizzy as Sirius struggled to hold him upright.

"How much did you drink?" Sirius demanded.

"Two of those things you're supposed to drink really fast," Peter said, holding his fingers up so he could see the size of the glass. "It burned. It didn't taste like anything it just burned."

"Reckon that's why they call it firewhiskey," Sirius said.

"You reckon?" Peter asked like the idea had just come to him.

"They weren't drinking firewhiskey," Eilidh said.

"They weren't?" James said, shocked. Eilidh shook her head.

"Peter, what colour was the drink?" she asked.

"White. No, clear like water. But it didn't taste like water. It tasted like fire," Peter grimace.

"You're supposed to sip Daisyroot Draught and you're definitely not supposed to have two of them," Sirius said, amazed that Peter was still standing. He shuffled forward, needing to get to the hospital wing before Peter passed out.

"But it came in those little glasses," Peter argued, holding his fingers up again.

James hesitated at the portrait hole. Paranoia seemed to have taken hold of him as he glanced both ways before stepping out.

"James, do you know any songs?" Eilidh asked. James only blinked at her. "Songs. I want to hear you sing."

"I don't know any songs," James scoffed.

"What about the one they were just playing?" Eilidh pressed.

"That was a muggle song," James told her.

"But it was a good one and it reminded me of you," she said. "How did it go again? Come out Virginia don't let 'em wait," Eilidh started to sing. Peter laughed and joined in. James smirked at them.

"Sirius, you know this song," James said.

"I don't sing Ja-"

"Only the good die young!" Peter yelled in his ear.

"Alright!" Sirius growled then, despite his better judgment, joined in. Eventually, James joined in too, catching on to the chorus that they sang way too many times to actually be the song anymore, until they burst into the Hospital wing, claiming death at an old age, and startled Remus awake which jostled his tray of barely touched dinner.

"What happened to you lot?" Remus laughed after seeing that they were all generally okay.

"I drank-" Peter started but Sirius shushed him. Peter mocked him with a finger to his lips.

"We were having childish innocent fun, stealing leftover pudding, when the house elves poisoned us," Sirius said.

"With Daisyroot," Peter sniggered.

"We went to a Pevensie party," James whispered loudly, swooping down onto Remus's bed. "I didn't know he had them at school. Don't know how he gets away with it."

"Probably only invites people who know better than to talk about it in front of the school nurse," Eilidh said, pulling James to his feet again. "How are you, Remus?"

"Oh, I'm fine," he said. "Always a fun night when I get to rip out my own gullet." Remus chuckled at his joke but, when he saw Eilidh's face he quickly sobered. "It's just an expression. I had a sore throat."

"Right," Eilidh said.

"Where's Pomfrey?" Sirius asked quickly before Remus could make another unbelievable excuse.

"Staff meeting. You just missed her," he answered, glad of the distraction. Sirius groaned. He pulled Peter and James toward the cabinet he saw Pomfrey working out of when James was in here, hoping that the potion he needed was there and clearly marked.

"Why don't you stay here and tell him?" Sirius told Eilidh to stop her from following. "I don't know why you insist on keeping secrets."

"I'm not keeping secrets," Eilidh hissed as he walked away.

Sirius settled James and Peter onto a bed. They rested their heads together and started drifting off to sleep.

"Hey! Stay awake!" Sirius said, snapping his fingers.

"We are awake," Peter whined, pushing his hand away.

"Come on. If you fall asleep you won't get crepes," Sirius told him.

"Crepes!" Peter said, his eyes popping open startling James awake.

"Who has whipped cream for breakfast?" James scoffed.

"Awesome people," Peter whispered.

"It's no different than cinnamon rolls," Sirius argued, knowing that James had cinnamon rolls for breakfast every Christmas morning. He shifted through Pomfrey's potions, keeping an ear on the now bickering James and Peter. He never knew anyone to have such passionate opinions about food.

Sirius found what he was looking for on the top shelf in the far left corner. It was easy enough for a grown woman to reach but for a fourth year who had yet to have his growth spurt, it was a little difficult. He had just found a stool to stand on when he heard Pomfrey's voice.

"Remus!" she said, disapprovingly.

"It helps," Remus said, his voice sounding muffled. Sirius grabbed the potions, jumped down from the stool, and peered around the curtain that luckily happened to be covering them from view. Remus was in an uncomfortable position with his face pointing toward the mattress, his butt in the air, and one of his legs folded under his chest.

Peter had his finger to his lips again, sniggering nervously with James.

"Drink this, quickly," Sirius murmured, shoving the opened phials into their hands. As James and Peter drank, Sirius pulled the cloak from James's pocket and attempted to throw it over all of them as quietly as possible. Sirius stuffed the empty phials under the bed's pillow as James and Peter stood. They adjusted the cloak so it covered all of their feet and shuffled forward.

"You really need to get to bed now. It's after curfew," Pomfrey was telling Eilidh.

"Oh, is Remus going to be out tomorrow?" Eilidh asked, buying time. Unfortunately, there was no way to sneak between Pomfrey and the cart she was wheeling and remain unnoticed.

"We'll have to see how he is in the morning," Pomfrey said sternly.

"Remus, what do you think?" Eilidh asked.

"I should be fine, Eilidh, I feel pretty good," Remus said.

"Okay, erm, well don't forget to do those stretches every day. They'll really help with your joints and your blood flow and your breathing. My aunts own magic solution. Every time I complain about an ache she always asks if I did my stretches," Eilidh laughed nervously.

"I'll be sure to remember," Remus promised, waving a hand and pointing casually to where they were under the Invisibility Cloak. It was a risk but Sirius stuck the tip of his toe out from under the cloak so Eilidh would know they were in the clear.

"Good. I'll see you in the morning. Good night. Sleep well," Eilidh said backing so slowly out she was able to keep the door slightly ajar without Pomfrey noticing.

Madam Pomfrey sighed moodily and clear Remus's tray away.

"You're quite popular," she said conversationally.

"Not really, my friends are just pests," Remus smirked. Pomfrey hummed a noncommittal agreement.

"You sure you're feeling alright?" she asked, adjusting Remus's pillows.

"I feel great actually. Those stretches actually helped my back," Remus told her. "And my headache."

"I want you to be careful with those. We don't know how much your body can take," Pomfrey warned.

"I will be," Remus promised. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey."

"Good night then. If you need anything, don't be afraid to wake me," she said.

"Thank you. Good night," Remus said, settling convincingly into his pillows. They waited until the door to Pomfrey's office shut and clicked as the locks slid into place before taking off the cloak.

"Oh, my head," Peter groaned, holding his head in his hands. James patted his shoulder sympathetically but looked completely fine.

"She knows, doesn't she," Remus whispered, staring at the hospital's doors.

"She's a Nicnevin, mate. She probably knew before she met you," Sirius answered. "Did she not tell you?"

"Is that what you meant?" Remus asked him. "She didn't tell me. I don't think it was a secret thing though."

"Right. Sure it wasn't," Sirius said. Eilidh didn't tell Lily about him. She didn't tell Remus that she knew. Sirius didn't understand the reason for all the secrecy around her friends.

"You're not going to involve her in your plan right?" Remus asked all three of them.

"What plan?" James asked.

"The plan. The-" Remus checked that the office door was still tightly shut then whispered, "the animagus plan."

"No. Don't be ridiculous," James laughed. Remus relaxed. "You really should get some sleep," James told him, ushering Sirius and Peter to the door. "Hey did you actually rip your gulet out?"

Remus gave a small sheepish smile in response. "It was just a sore throat."

"Right," James scoffed. "Good night. If you're not well enough tomorrow, we'll visit you." James sounded almost threatening like he was daring Remus to even try to get out of bed. James stared him down until he nodded then he pushed Sirius and Peter out the doors and shut them tightly behind him.

Eilidh was leaning against the wall, biting off her fingernails, looking concerned and a little angry.

"Did he say animag-"

"Stupefy!" James whispered, shooting the spell at Eilidh. Sirius dove forward and caught her before she hit the ground.

"What the hell?" Sirius hissed.

"She can't know. I can only be the four of us," James said.

"Yeah, well, she knows!" Sirius whispered.

"Not if we obliviate her," James said. Sirius stared at him incredulously. "I'll do it so you don't have to."

"You don't know how to do it! And I'm the best at charms," Sirius argued, attempting to guard Eilidh with his shoulder.

"Do you really want to obliviate your girlfriend?" James asked, already knowing the answer.

"I don't want anyone to obliviate her. What has gotten into you?" Sirius breathed.

"We have no choice," James argued.

"Yes, we have, of course, we have!" Sirius said, his voice carrying.

"What choice? If she knows she'll either want to join us, which will put her right next to a transformed werewolf, or she'll just know. She's friends with Lily, who's friends with Snape. Do you really want this spreading? It's not worth the risk," James said.

"What risk?" Sirius challenged.

"Azkaban, Sirius, a one-way ticket to literal hell," James hissed. Sirius could already feel himself being swayed. He had unconsciously moved his guard over Eilidh. "We have no choice, mate."

Sirius, feeling disgusted with himself, incredibly guilty, and angry at this new side to James, nodded, because he could find no real reason to disagree.

"You'll have to hold her down. She has to be awake for this," James said which only made Sirius sicker. Peter twisted his hands together violently. Sirius found it difficult to meet his eye as he held Eilidh's arms down. "Ready?" James said, looking nervous but determined. "One. Two. Renovate."

Eilidh jolted awake as if from a bad dream, blinked at them for a second, then realisation hit.

"What the fuck!" she screamed, ripping her arms away from Sirius. He gripped tighter fearing that he was hurting her. "Potter get the fuck off of me!" she ordered as James loomed over her out of danger of her kicking feet. "What are you -?"

"Obliviate," James said, speaking sure and clear. Eilidh still fought against Sirius's hold on her but she was unable to speak and unable to break eye contact with James's twisting wand. He seemed to be pulling the memories out of her, the longer he twisted the more subdued she became until her fight halted, her breath came soft and slow, and her glare became a dreamy gaze. James pulled her to her feet. Sirius lurched forward to push him off.

He held her by the waist close to him, let her hold his hand in a death grip. She laughed nervously as she turned to look at him.

"Oh, hey," she smiled. "What are you doing?"

"I'm… walking you to your dormitory," Sirius answered, the lie gnawing at his stomach.

"That's impossible," Eilidh laughed.

"Not to mention a terrible idea," Sirius agreed, smiling what he hoped was an easy humour filled smile.

"Lily," she gasped. "Do you think she knows yet? Persephone probably told her. That snake."

"Persephone left early," Sirius lied without even thinking about it. It was amazing how easy it was. He found her behaviour harrowing. People's initial daze usually didn't last this long. James might have muddled it up a bit and this was her mind trying to fill the gaps.

"Oh, good. She won't know until morning," Eilidh said.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. Why?" she said.

"You… just looked a little dizzy is all," Sirius said.

"Oh. Probably second-hand drunkenness. How are you Peter?" she asked, peering around Sirius to look at Peter.

"I- I'm erm, fine, Eilidh. I'm fine," Peter panted, his mouth twitching in an attempt to smile.

"He's a bit hungover," James said. Sirius gritted his teeth and glared the empty corridor ahead of him.

"Oh," Eilidh cooed. "You'll feel better in the morning. After you eat."

"I don't think I can eat anything," Peter mumbled, having to look away from her.

"Sleep will help, Petey, you'll see," Eilidh promised.

"Speaking of, how about we get you to bed?" Sirius said. Eilidh wined and grimace.

"I don't want to see Lily; we're going to fight again," she said.

"Maybe you should stay with us tonight. I've never seen anyone react like that," James said.

"No, really!" Sirius snarled.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Eilidh mumbled, breaking free of Sirius's arms. "You're always so grumpy and intense, just relax. We had a party. Peter got shit faced. James got weird. I flirted with someone. It's fine."

"It's fine?" Sirius challenged, not liking the reminder of Adam McKinnon but it paled in comparison to the current situation. "We're standing in front of the hospital wing."

"It was just a precaution. You're going to make James freak out again," she said, sounding more like herself now. Sirius couldn't care less if James freaked out again, not after what he just pulled, but he calmed himself all the same.

"We'll all feel better with some sleep," Sirius said, reaching for her hand. She looked at him suspiciously but took his hand anyway.

"I can't stay in your dormitory again. I'll be known as the school slag," Eilidh said.

"Alice then," Sirius said.

"Alice?" Eilidh questioned.

"She's a prefect. She was at Pevensie's party. She's Marlene's friend. You'll be safe with Alice," Sirius said.

"I guess," she shrugged.

"I wonder how Remus is doing," James said, casually but loudly to be sure that Eilidh heard. Sirius glared at him.

"Didn't we just…" Eilidh trailed off, staring bewildered at the wall she had been leaning against.

"Yeah we saw him, I mean you stood guard so you didn't see him, but he said something about his gullet that was worrying," James said. Eilidh cocked her head to the side and blinked like she was trying to decode a secret message on the wall, then shook her head.

"I'm sure he's fine. Madam Pomfrey's got him and if she can bring you back from the dead she can do anything," she said, starting for the dormitory. Sirius fell behind and held James back, waiting until Peter was ahead of them.

"Stop fucking with her head," Sirius snarled.

"Mate she's fine," James said, pushing Sirius's hand away. "She's still the same old, constantly pissed off at you, Eilidh Nicnevin that we hate to love."

Sirius pushed him against the wall and stepped back, surprised by his own action.

"She trusted you. She trusted us. I can't believe I let you do this," Sirius said.

"She's better off not knowing. You saw the look on her face when she did know, look at her now. She's fine," James argued. "And she still trusts us."

"We don't deserve it," Sirius said.

"So, earn it back, you posh twit," James said, smirking a little.

"Great idea, I'll go tell her," Sirius said, resisting the urge to punch the smirk off his face.

"She can't know, Sirius," James protested, reaching out to touch him.

"Fuck off," Sirius said, loudly.

"Are you two fighting again!" Eilidh called, coming to a stop.

"Eilidh, I'll walk you to your dormitory. Let them kill each other if they want," Peter said, somewhat bitterly. Eilidh looked back at them. Sirius didn't know what his expression told her but whatever it was, she let Peter lead her away.

"It's us four with her on the side, Sirius. She's not a part of this," James argued.

"What if it was Lily?" Sirius growled. "What if it was Lily standing outside that door instead of Eilidh? Would you have held her down while I obliviated her? She was terrified, James! The funny thing is is that Eilidh actually likes you and Lily doesn't. Lily can't stand you."

James flared at his comment and gripped his still drawn wand tighter. He breathed to calm himself but the grip on his wand didn't slacken.

It was funny in the least humorous way possible that most of the time Eilidh seemed to prefer James over Sirius and yet he was the one defending her. It was funny that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't fight James. It hilarious that the one time he actually wanted to say I'm sorry to someone, he couldn't do it. The humour of the situation caused bile to rise in Sirius's throat.

"I didn't want to do that to Eilidh but, it's safer this way, for all of us. Eilidh included," James said. Sirius slumped, still angry but defeated. It was safer if Eilidh didn't know. It would keep her out of Azkaban. It provided a certainty for his friends. "It's the four of us, mate. You and I we're… we're friends till the end. Eilidh, I don't know, I feel like she's gonna disappear someday."

"What are you talking about?" Sirius demanded.

"She -she's wild. I feel like she's gonna pack up one day and move to Guam or something without telling anyone," James shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.

"She's not going anywhere," Sirius said, certainly. Family meant something to her. That's been clear since day one. "She wouldn't leave us - she wouldn't leave her family behind. Stop being a prat. And you're not going to use magic on her again!"

James held up his hands in an indication of peace.

"It's wasn't planned, mate," James said.

"Promise me," Sirius implored angrily.

"What if-"

"Promise me!" Sirius yelled.

"Alright!" James said, flaring up again. "I promise I won't use magic on her. We'll have to do things the hard way. Are we done? Can we be friends now without you letting some girl come between us?"

"I'm not letting- I thought you wanted Eilidh and I to be together? I thought it made sure all five of us would stay friends," Sirius argued. He would have argued further with some choice insults but he didn't; there was something different in James's eye. Something more than fear and anger.

"Mate, I want you to be with her because she seems to make you happy. And yeah, I like being friends with her but not if it means we're going to be fighting like this. We're not supposed to fight each other. We're supposed to fight them. Us against the world. One for all and all for one. Remember?" James said and Sirius had the awful thought that James was trying to manipulate him.

"Yeah. Alright," Sirius said because that was all he could think to say. James looked relieved as he clapped a hand on Sirius's back and sauntered forward. That was desperation in James's eye. A scared, angry, and desperate James had obliviated Eilidh in a snap decision to keep her quiet. That was his impulse now. He wondered what else this new James was capable of.


	30. James and Eilidh

It snowed. It started as small drifting flakes that melted as soon as they hit the window. Hours past and the flakes became tiny white puffs that stuck, the packed snow becoming thicker until the room was so dark he could just barely make out the shape of his hand in front of his face. He really should be sleeping. He had classes in the morning and a mess to clean. He wondered how long Lily would stay mad at him. Surely, someday soon, she’d see sense and they’d talk this out and they’d be friends again and she would trust him again. He should take her to a concert this summer, she’d like that. She’d probably dress in muggle clothes just as a fuck you to the purebloods.  
The thought of it made him smile and the tension, he didn’t realise his body was holding, released. How long had he been that tense? Since his fight with Sirius? Obliviating Eilidh? Since he woke up in the hospital bed? Or before?  
But he refused to think about that now. It would only awaken that horrible angry, scared feeling that made his stomach fill with acid.  
He blinked. Behind his eyelids, he saw flashes of lights from spells he didn’t know and angry faces laughing with malice.  
He sat up.  
Those moments between sleep and consciousness had once been so peaceful. It had been his time to daydream about flying on his broomstick. Or, when he was homesick, he’d think about sitting in his kitchen with his mother humming a random tune, his father would join in with his booming voice from another room, somehow always knowing the song. Sometimes he’d add his friends: Sirius laughing his laugh that rumbled, Remus calm and content usually holding a cup of tea, and Peter happy, genuinely happy. Now, his imagings were harder to hold onto. His mother would turn to smile at him and he’d see Mulcibers face. His father’s singing became Abbott’s taunts. Sirius would laugh, Remus would melt, Peter would smile and just as he’d notice the sparkle in his usually dull eyes there would be a flash of angry white light and he’d jolt awake, the stabbing pain in his chest somehow worse, and he’d have to start all over.  
He thought maybe Sirius would understand this but how was he supposed to put it into words. ‘Hey mate, I keep seeing shit while I’m falling asleep and now my chest hurts all the time. I’m still sane right?’  
He could see Sirius’s worried expression, hear his attempt to laugh it off. Later he’d tell Remus and then Remus would get so worried his lip would do that twitching thing and then Peter would find out and do that thing with his hands and start stuttering and being too nice. It’d be a disaster from start to finish. He was alone in this and he needed to remain alone. It would pass eventually and all he’d have to worry about is how to work in another vow of silence, how he was going to get Sirius to come home with him this Christmas because Merlin knows what really happens at his house, and Remus - everything about Remus from his grades to his sleep schedule.  
Dear Godric, he couldn’t think anymore.  
He got out of bed. The floor felt cold even through his socks. It was quiet. Too quiet. It was itching at his ears like a bug.  
“Sirius?” he murmured, hoping he was awake but not wanting to force him to be if he wasn’t. Sirius moaned softly on his steady exhale. It was an unconscious response. Feeling heavily disappointed and lonelier than he ever had in his life, James started to dress for a trip out of doors.  
He had been told by not only Madam Pomfrey, his mother, and Professor McGonagall, but Cresswell too, that he was exempt from Quidditch practice for the time being and that if he was seen on the Quidditch field there'd be severe consequences, but that didn’t include a quick midnight fly to clear his head. If some fresh air didn’t help the aching in his chest he didn’t know what would. So, with his broom in his hand, he all but ran out of his dormitory, afraid that he’d be stopped.  
Eilidh was in the common room, working furiously by a dim candlelight, stressfully pulling at her hair. At the sound of his boots hitting the stairs, she looked up.  
“James?”  
She was going to tell him to go back to bed, to not put himself in harm’s way, he could hear it in her voice.  
“I couldn’t sleep,” he said, with an edge of defiance.  
“I forgot about the Transfiguration essay due tomorrow, until about an hour ago,” she said, passing a hand over her face. A moment passed. Then two, while he tried to think of what to say. He needed to get outside and she needed to let him go.  
“I’ll let you copy mine.” If you let me go. If you keep your mouth shut.  
Eilidh chuckled then looked contemplatively at her scribbled essay.  
“Can I come with you? I could use the air,” she said finally. “Unless you wanted to be alone?”  
“Be quick about it then,” James said, nodding to the girls’ dormitory because surely she needed to put on warmer clothes. It was a wonder she wasn’t freezing in the drafty common room in such thin pyjamas.  
She smiled her appreciation and dashed up the stairs. James waited patiently as the air got thinner and gravity's pull got stronger until finally, she came down with her broom over her shoulder, looking more awake and much more excited than she had minutes before.  
They walked quietly and with vigilance under the Invisibility Cloak, bonding in the camaraderie. James realised that this was the first time he had ever actually been alone with her and smiled at how easy it was before the guilt took over him and he had to stop thinking about that too.  
“So what’s with you?” he asked, stuffing the Cloak into his pocket as they skipped down the snow-covered steps, his hair already damp. She looked at him curiously and with an unconscious smile on her face. James decided he liked her best like this, late at night, inhibitions down, right on the edge of irresponsible. “Do you dream about Transfigurations essays or were you having trouble sleeping?”  
She laughed nervously and looked off into the horizon.  
“It’s midnight, Nicnevin. If there was ever a time for a soul-baring conversation, now would be it,” James prompted.  
“I couldn’t sleep,” she answered. Their feet sunk low into the snow, well past their ankles, which meant that they were off the steps. James stayed quiet, waiting for her to talk more. She sighed, probably realising what he was doing, but still continued, “Christmas is coming.”  
“Most people wouldn’t say that so ominously,” James observed.  
“Most people have something to look forward to during the holidays,” she returned. It took a minute for James to realise what she meant.  
“Your dad?” he asked. The only time she had ever spoken about her father was when she told them that he died and she had been an emotional mess then.  
James had never lost someone he cared about; he hadn’t even known anyone who had died. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like and it surprised him a little to find that the loss still grated her so many months later.  
“And, you know, Sirius is really confusing,” she said, brightly. “I mean, he says he fancies me, asks me out, then acts like none of that happened until he sees me with another bloke and he gets all possessive. Then he kisses me. But only because of you. He’s just… confusing.”  
“He cares about you a lot,” James said, remembering their fight and how intense his eyes were when he defended her. “He was the same way with us in our first year and a little in second year. I don’t think he really knows how to bond with people.”  
At his words, a realisation seemed to dawn over Eilidh. She leaned against the stadium’s steps, looking thoughtfully at nothing in particular.  
“What?” he asked. She blinked rapidly at him as if startled.  
“I just - I think that might be a rich people thing. Both of my parents, my mother and her husband, are distant, even with each other. Lucas and I were close but as he got older and he started working with Ulric more, he became distant. Like Sirius, I guess. I just didn’t realise it,” Eilidh explained then mounted her broom. “It still doesn’t explain the possessiveness, though.”  
She kicked off the ground before James got a chance to answer. She flew higher and higher until Hogwarts was nothing but a miniature figurine. The air was thinner and colder up here, the snow thicker, obscuring his vision, and the wind whipped at his ears deafening him. They had reached irresponsible and she had found peace, with her arms stretched out on either side of her, her head tilted back, the wind ripping through her hair.  
“I don’t care though!” she screamed. “Not when he makes me feel like this!”  
And he understood because Sirius was just as wild as she was only in a different way. Sirius stood his ground, rooting himself to the spot, the longer he stayed the more entangled you became.  
She liked to run with the wind. She was a bird. He was a bull. She was alive with the wind. He was alive with a punch. He was just as unfathomable and as dangerous as the wind.  
It was a thrill. A rush of endorphins and adrenaline, knowing that you shouldn’t but wanting it anyway.  
It was explosive.  
Safe.  
Risky.  
And probably doomed.  
He was her Lily. The only difference was, Sirius wanted her back.  
She was his punch to the gut. She could tear into him as easily as a sharpened knife through paper. The untouchable bull was injured by the bird.  
“James!” she yelled fearfully. Lightning struck the ground a few miles from the Quidditch pitch.  
They had been waiting for an electrical storm since last year. They had gone out of their way to perform the animagus charm twice a day, every day, counting the days until such a storm manifested. And here it was. Two days too late. Perhaps it was meant to mock him for his failure but he felt that second heartbeat, the one that belonged to his animal self, as lightning struck a second time, further away now. Anger warmed his ears despite the cold.  
They landed on the top step, the harsh wind pushing them into the front doors and onto the stone floor of the entrance hall they had once covered in ice when things were simpler.  
Eilidh scrambled to close the heavy doors and James helped by kicking it closed, clutching his shoulder that ached from the force he had fallen on it with.  
“Did you hit your head?” she asked, sliding next to him to gently caress his forehead, inspecting him for new lumps.  
“Are you in love with him?” he asked, surprised at how angry his voice sounded. He hadn’t meant to sound so threatening. It was just a question.  
“No,” she said, pulling away from him. James stared at her, wondering how he could put his thoughts into words when his thoughts didn’t make sense to himself.  
“Sirius doesn’t like being an option. He wants to be the option,” James said because he knew that Sirius hated being second to Regulus in everything. “He’s all or nothing,” he said because Sirius worked in absolutes; he hated you or he didn’t, he was good at something or he wasn’t. “If you want something ask, because he doesn’t know.” Sirius didn’t know how to be around people, he only knew how to be better than everyone. “Don’t hurt him,” because Sirius was a hell of a lot more sensitive than he seemed.  
“I don’t want to,” she breathed. “Hurt him, I mean.”  
“Then you won’t,” James said, helping her to her feet. “As for Christmas, you can make plans with us.”  
“Thank you. I think I want to see what it’s like at home first,” Eilidh answered, nervously.  
“You think?” James questioned.  
“James?” She stopped, very suddenly. With her on the first step and him on the ground, they were eye level and James could see the storm of emotion burning inside her just as furious as the one out there, but she just said, “are you okay?”  
Perhaps he was thrown off by her questions but James felt for the first time in a long time and it was horrible.  
“No,” he whispered before he could stop himself.  
Eilidh hugged him and James hugged her back because she knew what it was like to hurt, to be scared, and alone, and…. She just knew.


	31. Remus Finds Out

To date, there had never been a day when James didn’t wake his friends up the moment sunlight past the windowsill. It was annoying how energetic he was, talking a mile a minute, often stumbling over his words because his mouth couldn’t keep up with his head, jumping over and onto things, including to Remus’s bed. For any other person, James’s forceful friendship would have been off-putting, but to Remus it was perfect. It was still annoying but, Remus was not the type of person who could make friends easily. In fact, if it hadn’t been for James, he probably would have spent his seven years with only a few passing phrases between his dorm mates. Still, he thought he could do without the daily wake up call; he was a werewolf after all and need to stalk up on energy; he was entitled to a few minutes extra sleep now and then.  
You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone. A phrase Remus understood the meaning behind in a clinical sense but had never truly understood until that morning. Nothing was particularly wrong in the sense of an emergency, it was just slightly off. Groggily pulling apart his curtains, he realised what it was.  
A near perfect parallelogram of light stretched across his dormitory, nearly reaching James’s trunk. Surely, with James’s curtain’s wide open, the sun was in his eyes. Only the most tired of people would have the ability to sleep through that discomfort, but James, by his steadily rising chest and slackened, drool covered mouth, was sleeping blissfully.  
Peter snored, nobody believed that Peter snored because Remus’s snoring always overpowered his soft ones. While Sirius didn’t snore, he scarcely moved even in evidence of breathing, he mumbled at random and scarce intervals, particularly in times of stress as he did this morning, telling Remus that he was the first to wake. Remus was never the first to wake. Sometimes he told his friends that he was but that was only to cover up a sleepless night.  
“Hey, James?”  
It was a sharp inhale that brought James into a sitting position.  
“What time is it?” he asked, slightly panicked.  
“Erm,” Remus reached for his watch on his bedside table, bewildered. “7:13”  
James threw his blankets off of him with such force they landed audibly in a crumpled mess, his feet hit the floor on the other side, elephantine in sound.  
“Wake up you two!” James ordered, pulling his school robes over his pyjamas. “We don’t have time for this,” was his response to the grumbling. “We have shit to do today. We have to figure out how we’re going to do the Mandrakes again. And we have to figure out who the rest of those Slytherins were. And -” James continued to rant about matters of non-pressing nature but seemed to have anxiety around them. It was enough to set Peter into hurried motion but Sirius seemed perfectly at ease as he blearily rubbed his eyes. He looked at Remus as if to say ‘what’s up with him’ and Remus grimaced, saying, ‘I have no idea.’  
“Sirius get up! Mandrakes, Sirius, Mandrakes!” James yelled. “It was hard enough to get away with the first time, the second time is going to be impossible. McGonagall was suspicious, she’ll probably know now. She’s an animagus after all.”  
Sirius, grudgingly, his glare fueled with defiant anger, got up and silently made his way to the bathroom. James didn’t notice.  
“Remus, why did you let us sleep this late?” James demanded.  
“Don’t start on me,” Remus muttered.  
“I’m not starting on anybody,” James said, defensively. “I’m just pointing out the fact that we’re very, very late and nobody cares!” he shouted at the bathroom door.  
“Then stop lecturing Sirius about Mandrakes. He knows how difficult it was, he was there,” Remus said, trying to seem nonchalant. “It’s a shitty way to wake up.”  
Peter marched by, muttering to himself inaudibly and angrily in a way that was very much not like Peter.  
“Did I miss something?” Remus asked James.  
James looked surprised that he would suggest such a thing. “No, why?”  
“Everyone’s -” Remus stirred his hands in the air, unable to think of the proper word. It was tense and it was a tension he wasn’t apart of. Logically, he knew he should have been glad of it; less stress for him was good for his health. But he couldn’t help but feel left out and, even worse, lied to. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew when James was hiding something, had even been on the receiving end of it not once but twice, well, three times now.  
“It was just a shitty way to wake up, right?” James smiled but it wasn’t quite there, it was a haunted smile. Remus was, certainly, missing something. They had seemed fine when they had visited him in the hospital wing. Better than fine, all things considered. But now, James was panicky, Sirius didn’t reply with snarky, fuck all remarks, Peter was broody. He didn’t know what he had until it was gone.  
Sirius left the dormitory without a word at their expense, only him wrenching open the door and slamming it closed again told them that he had left. He came back, moments later, to very blankly say, “Dumbledore wants you and Eilidh in his office.” Sirius didn’t give James time to ask questions before he slammed the door again.  
“Git.” James kicked his trunk closed. “See ya, Pete!” James waited but Peter didn’t answer so he left the dormitory in a huff.  
“Peter?” Remus called. If anyone was going to give him answers it would be Peter. And now they were alone.  
Peter pulled the door open a little irritably, probably expecting James or Sirius. “Oh, hey, Remus.”  
“Do you want to see if we can make it to breakfast?” Remus smiled, invitingly.  
“Go on ahead. I need to get dressed and double check my assignments,” Peter said. “Save me some toast if I don’t make it, yeah?”

 

Remus quickly found himself to be sitting with people he had never been around unless James and Sirius were present. They were their friends, not his. He listened to them talk about things he didn’t know about nor cared to know about.  
Frank was having an affair with Alice Prewett that was increasingly becoming more public the more they tried to keep it a secret. It would be difficult to keep anything secret when Gabe Pevensie, with a knowing air and a booming voice, announced that a “mysterious” voice issuing from a broom closet told him to tell Frank ‘geraniums’ accompanied by loud snickering from his cohorts and jokes about nonexistent ‘extra patrols.’ Frank left the table flushed and in a hurry.  
Remus glanced at the door, hoping that his friends would miraculously appear at the perfect moment and save him. Gabe Pevensie and his friends had, for some reason, taken it upon themselves to fill the empty bench space surrounding him. They continued on with their conversations, clearly, by their side glances, hoping that Remus would join in like James and Sirius would, as if, by simply associating with them, he had adopted that talent. He felt too out of place to think of anything to say.  
He couldn’t stop thinking about how odd he must look sitting between a hoard of seventh years. Broad, stocky, athletic Gabe Pevensie on his right, making him look even more like a wiry tangle of limbs. Adrian Longbottom, tall, and smartly dressed in his accessorized school robes making his look even more shabby and second handed. Dirk Cresswell, his reputation for brilliance known even to the fourth years while Remus was up to his elbows in bullshit, made him feel transparent.  
“I have to go,” was all that Remus could bring himself to say as he shot up, knowing, even as he did it, that he was ridiculous.  
“Tell Potter to come find me,” Gabe told him. “I might have a girl for him.”  
The remark didn’t sound strange to Remus until he was in the entrance hall. James had a girl. Or at least he had his eyes on a girl. He didn’t need Gabe to have a girl for him. Then he saw Peter and his mind went blank.  
Peter was bloody. He had streaks of red running down from his nose and his hairline. The puffy flesh around his eye was black, purple, and tender. One white-knuckled fist gripped his wand the other was trembling and an angry vengeful red.  
“Sirius,” he panted, pointing to the dungeons.  
Remus would have cursed but to save time he shot forward without a word. The first corridor echoed with the sound of grunts and whispered spells. The second contained a litter of first years nervously watching around a corner. The third was a tangle of black, green, and red. Three Slytherins, one Gryffindor. Each of their wands waving and jabbing wildly, flashes of red and white lights bounced around. Sirius fought off ropes spewing from Mulciber and Avery’s wands while the third made a jab for his chest.

“Crucio!” growled the voice. He was most definitely older than Sirius by his attempt at a moustache and a well-defined jaw. Remus came to recognise him as Antonin Dolohov from the Slytherin Quidditch team.  
Sirius cried out in anguish and fell, his head hitting the stone floor with a skin-crawling crack. The ropes vanished, they were only meant to be a distraction. The spell didn’t last for longer than a second but still, it was enough to damage to most witches and wizards. But not Sirius. He seemed to be thriving from the pain. His eyes burning with a ferocity Remus had never seen. It chilled him.  
“Is that all you sons of bitches got?” he grunted. Remus shuttered at the cruelty in it. A sheen of sweat covered Sirius’s lively face, his hair mussed, his grin broad and menacing, his wand slashing so quickly it was a blur. The Slytherins were thrown against the wall.  
“Protego!” Remus waved his wand, creating a barrier between himself and Sirius and the so-called ‘sons of bitches’ readying their counterattack. He pulled Sirius up and pushed him backwards.  
Sirius took a step forward. “Put the wall down, Remus.”  
Remus didn’t respond.  
Sirius laughed as Mulciber tried to break down the wall while Dolohov and Avery ducked from the rebounding spells.  
“Let’s go, Sirius,” Remus said, surprised at how strong his voice sounded. Sirius jerked away from Remus’s outstretched hand, lingered a moment longer, then turned to leave. He didn’t look back nor did he speak, he merely walked out of the dungeon at a casual stroll. His breathing sounded purposefully calm.  
James and Peter were sitting on the marble staircase, James doing his best to tend to Peter’s wounds. Eilidh stood over them, bouncing on the balls of her feet, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. It only took her a second to realise they were there.  
“You short-sighted, little prat,” Eilidh hissed, looking every bit as menacing as Sirius had. Her accent seemed to be more prominent when she was angry.  
“Nicnevin,” said James firmly, kneeling beside Peter who held a wet handkerchief to his bruised eye, all signs of blood now gone. “It had to happen, eventually.”  
“Not like this. Not on their bloody doorstep. You're lucky this is all that happened,” Eilidh pointed at Peter still sitting on the marble staircase, his one good eye flashing from Eilidh to Remus then settled on Sirius.  
“I told you to wait,” Eilidh growled.  
“And we elected to ignore your unwarranted advice,” Sirius returned, his face flushed and arms trembling.  
“Unwarranted?” Eilidh whispered which was somehow more terrifying than her yelling. Sirius became still and unreadable. “Fine.”  
“Eilidh.” James reached for her halfheartedly, but Eilidh ignored it and continued to stalk into the Great Hall. “Nice one, mate.”  
Sirius grit his teeth and looked away from James’s disappointed stare.  
“Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Remus asked his mind racing, heart thumping, his hands pulsing. And James told him, keeping things short and to the point, about a fight on the night of the full moon that ended with James in the hospital wing, unresponsive. Remus couldn’t help but feel that Eilidh was right. Unfortunately, James didn’t seem to feel the same. His only problem seemed to be in Sirius’s choice of words.  
“She is our friend, Sirius.”  
“I know.”  
“You have to apologise.”  
“I know!”  
It was a chilly day metaphorically and physically. James refused to be anything but coldly polite to Sirius until he apologised, Sirius stubbornly refused to say the words I’m sorry, and Eilidh might as well have been a stranger to them.  
Except in DADA. Sirius, once again trying to apologise without actually apologising, asked Eilidh to be his partner in their duelling exercise. Eilidh gladly accepted. Sirius smiled at James in an I - told - you - so sort of way and proceeded to get his arse kicked.  
“Obviously, I let her win. Her offence might be good but her defence is shit,” Sirius defended against their teasing in a low voice, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t heard.  
Sirius didn’t try again in Herbology. Remus couldn’t help but notice that Eilidh sat alone, a short distance away from her dorm mates, and an even larger distance away from Sirius and therefore the rest of them. She didn’t appear to be upset about this, on the contrary, she looked content with the quiet.  
By Potions, however, James had had enough.  
“Two words, three syllables, and she’s yours,” James whispered through the steam rising from their cauldron, his frustration almost tangible.  
“Why should I?” Sirius nearly yelled. He glanced at Slughorn before adding, “they’re just words.”  
“And sometimes they’re necessary. Not everyone gets your stupid-”  
“It’s not stupid,” Sirius argued. James looked flustered for a moment then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  
“Go over there and apologise properly,” James hissed, his hands gripping the edge of the table, his glasses fogging up as he leaned over the cauldron. Sirius issued a noise that was both a growl and a sigh then stalked off. “If I don’t hear the words ‘I’m’ and ‘sorry’ don’t expect me to talk to you anymore either.”  
Sirius scowled at him but continued on towards Eilidh’s table. He sent Mary Macdonald to replace him as James’s partner.  
“What’d he say?” James asked before Mary had the chance to sit down.  
“He said to switch places with him,” Mary said obviously.  
“And what did she say?” James continued.  
“She didn’t say anything.” Mary looked questioningly from James to Eilidh then to Peter. James watched over his shoulder as Sirius talked and Eilidh ignored.  
“I think we need more…” James’s mumble was unintelligible as he practically ran for the storage cupboard.  
“We need more of that too,” Remus said, sending Peter an apologetic look before following James.  
“All right, fine,” Sirius was saying, slumping into the barstool next to Eilidh. James was taking his time dragging a scale from the cupboard. “Total honesty.”  
“Yes, I want you to leave,” Eilidh said automatically and defensively, her body going rigid as she side glanced Sirius.  
“Do you know what he’s-” James whispered.  
"Shh!” Remus hissed, using a large knife to watch their reflection.  
“I didn’t ask -” Sirius started to argue.  
“I know. You don’t ask about a lot,” Eilidh interrupted, her voice suddenly full of venom.  
“What’s she doing?” James asked.  
“Can’t see her face but I think she’s glaring at him,” Remus said.  
Sirius, he could see clearly. He looked confused, his eyes scanned her face like he was trying to piece together a puzzle.  
“I am sorry,” he said finally. Eilidh’s shoulders fell either out of shock or relief, her grip on her ladle slackened.  
“Okay,” she said.  
“Okay?” Sirius was utterly perplexed. He clearly wasn’t expecting an ‘okay.’ “Look. Your advice is always appreciated and most of the time it’s followed. This time, even though you were completely right, we decided to...” Sirius paused, trying to think of how to word this properly.  
“Ignore it?” Eilidh finished for him.  
“Not like that,” Sirius said quickly.  
“Then why’d you say it?” Eilidh challenged.  
“Because,” Sirius paused, glanced at Remus in his knife, grit his teeth, and somewhat reluctantly admitted, “I was mad. And I’m a stupid, short-sighted, little prat.”  
“I’m not apologising for that,” she said quickly, then more kindly, “I am sorry if I hurt your feelings.”  
“Nah,” Sirius shrugged and cut up her African red pepper.  
“This is your game, you know,” Eilidh reminded, sounding only a little annoyed.  
“Yes. Fine. All right,” Sirius grumbled, cutting faster. “But while we’re on the subject of apologies, I’d like to apologise on behalf of my rude, annoying, busy-body friends.”  
Eilidh looked around and met Remus’s eye in his knife. James smirked at Remus before spinning around.  
“We’re not leaving until you two kiss and make up,” James declared.  
“If I take back my apology will keep your promise and give me the silent treatment?” Sirius asked pointedly.  
“A word of caution James,” Eilidh said, smiling, “your new partner is rubbish at potions.”  
James’s smile faded slightly as he turned to look back at their table. Black smoke was rising from both of their cauldrons. Mary and Peter were too involved in their own conversation to notice. Remus scurried forward. James sent one last look at Sirius then followed suit.  
“Peter, we’re supposed to stir it every half of a minute,” Remus announced, jogging over to his cauldron. There was no saving their potion, it was completely charred. He wondered, hopelessly, if they had time to start fresh.  
“Oh, gross,” Mary muttered, pulling James’s ladle out and with it a thick strand of goop.  
“Ah,” James said coming up at the sight.  
“Is there -?” Mary started but was interrupted by a sneered; “What is that?”  
Snape, with every bit of disdain he could muster, glared from the opposite side of the aisle. Avery, beside him, snickered.  
“It’s your face cream, Snivellus. Or don’t you recognise it?” James grabbed the ladle from Mary and made to hand it to him. Snape recoiled, almost falling out of his chair in his haste.  
“Okay, time to pack everything away and clean up. Do not forget to leave a phial of your potion, clearly marked, on my desk,” Slughorn announced quickly as he made his way over to the four. He peered into both cauldrons, his nose wrinkling slightly. “Er, you’ll have to take zeros for today, I’m afraid.”  
“It’s all right, Professor, we’ll make it up next class,” James said easily. Remus couldn’t help but count all of his accumulated zeros. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and kept his mouth tightly shut. James was dazzling his way out of trouble.  
“I’m sure you will m’boy. How are you feeling?” Slughorn asked, smiling already.  
“Never better, thank you, sir,” James grinned back.  
“Good, good. And how are your parents?”  
“Brilliant as always. They were hoping to run into you while they were here,” James leaned lazily against the table.  
“Yes, I caught them just as they were leaving. I always knew they would make a great pair,” Slughorn chuckled as his eyes glazed over, lost in better days.  
“Dad always said you were his favourite teacher,” James told him, matching Slughorn’s proud smile.  
“Did he? Oh, that’s very kind of him. He was always one of my favourite students even if he did have a penchant for trouble.”  
“Like father like son,” James shrugged, smirking.  
“So it would seem,” Slughorn laughed. “Well, I’ll let you get to your work dear boy. And, er, Mr Pettigrew, would you see me after class?”  
Peter’s eyes grew wide as a blush crept up his neck. He nodded and gulped then Professor Slughorn strolled away.  
“We’re getting an excused, did you say?” James called after him.  
“Yes, yes,” Slughorn waved.  
Remus cocked his brow at James. James’s smirk disappeared.  
“Piss off,” James told him, knocking into his shoulder. Remus laughed.  
It turned out that Slughorn had asked both Peter and Sirius to stay after class which could only mean that Eilidh was about to be proved correct.  
“Hi,” she said, meeting them in the corridor.  
“Mrs Black,” James nodded.  
“Keep your voice down, will you?” Eilidh hissed, glancing around them.  
“Well?” James asked.  
“Er, I’m sorry for ignoring you today,” Eilidh mumbled.  
“No, you and Sirius,” James said obviously.  
“Oh. We’re speaking,” Eilidh shrugged.  
“Speaking?” James questioned. “How are you still mad?”  
“It’s not just me,” Eilidh said defensively. James blinked at her which only irritated her more. “We’re working on it.”  
“Why don’t we work on it together? We’re all friends, right?” James pressed. Eilidh squinted at him.  
“Stay out of it,” she said firmly.  
“Sounds easy enough,” Remus blurted, sensing James’s need to interfere. “You should wait with us. Shouldn’t be too long now.”  
“Er, I can’t actually. I need to have a long, dramatic, all around horrible chat with my dorm mates. Will you be in your dormitory later? I might need a good laugh,” Eilidh asked, looking both hopeful and sad.  
“You still haven’t told Lily?” James guessed and by Eilidh’s defensive and angry stance, Remus assumed he was correct. “Merlin you two!”  
“Stay. Out of it!” Eilidh ordered before stomping off.  
“They will never last if they don’t sort this out,” James muttered more to himself than anyone.  
“Eilidh’s trying to, at least,” Remus commented.  
“We don’t even know what Sirius did. He already apologised for the unwarranted thing, what else is there?” James ranted, throwing his hands in the air.  
“I reckon he knows what he did. She’s not exactly mouse-y, is she?” Remus said.  
“She’s different with him. It’s weird. And it makes everything more complicated.” James crossed his arms over his chest, threw himself against the dungeon wall, and glared at the potions classroom’s door. “You up for a bit more mischief today, Moony?”  
Remus’s head said ‘no, absolutely not’ but the rest of him was still buzzing in an unsatisfied way from this morning's dose of adrenaline. He opened his mouth to speak, shook his head at himself, and walked out of the dungeon. “Are we really going to continue calling me that?”  
“Absolutely,” James grinned. “It’ll be on your gravestone.”


	32. Eilidh tells Lily

Eilidh’s nerves almost got the better of her. She didn’t even know why she liked him. He was infuriatingly prideful and unknowable and intense. She normally went for the lively, easygoing, charismatic type, like James, yet, somehow, James had never appealed to her and Sirius did.  
She was willing to talk to Lily about this which would quite possibly ruin their friendship. Understandably so. She was Lily’s friend first and with Lily came Severus. Severus’s enemies were Lily’s enemies and Lily’s enemies should have been her’s. Eilidh couldn’t help that she didn’t like Severus any more than she could help liking those boys.  
So there she was, because of a ‘deal breaker’ standing outside her own dormitory, trying to get the nerve to walk in.  
Lily was stubborn, and she considered Severus family. All Eilidh had was the feeble argument “there are two sides to every story. They’re great lads if you give them a chance.”  
With her heart in her throat and her palms sweating Eilidh opened the door and remained unnoticed until she let it fall closed.Their chatter stopped immediately and, just as suddenly, all four eyes were on her. Eilidh rested her weight against the door.  
“Hey,” she said nervously and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Marlene smiled gently at her, Mary bit her lip, Lily and Josie made no attempt to hide their negative feelings. “Er, I need to talk to you all about something. Marls, do you have time?”  
Marlene took her wrist watch from her bed, checked the time, said “plenty,” and fastened it to her wrist.  
“Make it quick. We have to study,” Lily said, flicking her hair back and crossing her arms. She leaned against Josie’s fourposter. Josie perched herself on her trunk. Marlene and Mary settled onto beds on the opposite side of the room. The floor was hers. She took a few steps forward, careful to appear confident and open.  
“Erm.” Eilidh didn’t know where to start. Should she come out and say it or should she find a way to ease into it? She looked to Marlene who nodded encouragingly, Mary who smiled kindly, then back to Lily and Josie, the lions of the den.  
“Something happened a while ago that I didn’t tell you about. I don’t know why I didn’t tell you then. I mean, I thought it would be best to see if things would stay the way they were but then -” She was rambling, she could feel it in the way her breath caught in her throat. Marlene cleared her throat and tapped against her bedpost, telling Eilidh to move things along.  
“Get to the point, Nicnevin.” Lily flicked her hair back and pressed her lips into a thin line.   
Eilidh went cold. It was fine for James, and sometimes Sirius, to refer to her by her surname but from Lily, it was just dissociative and demeaning.  
“I’m dating Sirius,” she longer cared about the consequences.  
Lily froze, her eyes looking through Eilidh rather than at her. Josie, however, almost jumped up, her face falling. Eilidh stood her ground, her expression just as cold as theirs had been. She no longer cared. She was now the lion.  
“Well, I hope he makes you happy,” Lily said, then turned to leave. Picking up her rucksack on her way out, she slammed the door behind her.  
“How could you do that to Lily?” Josie asked quietly.  
“I don’t want to hear it, Josie,” Eilidh snapped. A thousand daggers were piercing her heart, and it was all she could do to hold on to that anger. She didn't want to cry now. Her nails dug into her palms to distract from the pricking in her eyes.   
“Someday you will come to your senses and Lily will take you back because that’s the person she is. I hope you realise that you don’t deserve a friend like her. She’d never do that to you,” Josie said, her voice strong, but she was having trouble meeting Eilidh’s eye.  
“I said, I don’t want to hear it,” Eilidh snarled and continued to snarl as she watched Josie stomp out. The door slammed again and Eilidh fell into a pit of exhaustion, her eyes welling with hot tears.  
She turned away from Mary and Marlene, her eyes locked, blurrily, on Marlene’s cat napping on the windowsill.  
“So, you and Sirius are official?” Mary said, weakly.  
“Don’t you remember the marriage ceremony?” Marlene teased.  
Eilidh took a deep breath, let a few tears fall, dried her eyes, then turned around.  
“I’m fine,” she smiled, certainly sounding fine, but she wasn’t fine at all, she was just numb.  
“You should be. You’ve got a really cute boyfriend,” Mary grinned.  
“Let’s not use that word just yet,” Eilidh cringed.  
“Why not? You’re ‘officially a non-platonic thing. At least that’s what Potter said during last practice,” Marlene shrugged.  
“Maybe she has something against the word cute?” Mary suggested.  
“It’s not that.” Eilidh shook her head. This was just another thing to worry about. She squeezed her eyes shut wishing she could go back and do it all over.  
“Getting trouble from both ends?” Marlene asked, already knowing the answer. Eilidh nodded, her eyes still closed. She did not want to cry right now. “Come over here and talk about it.”  
“That’s what girl friends are for,” Mary agreed, climbing over her bed to get to Marlene's. Eilidh chucked.  
“It’s just, I started this, a little aggressively, so I kinda want him to set the tone and take his own pace with this whole thing,” Eilidh said, taking a keen interest in her thumbs.  
“You’re still talking about the kiss thing?” Marlene droned. Eilidh could hear the eye roll.  
“The kiss th- you two already kissed?” Mary exclaimed. “That would have been nice to know!”  
“It’s not what you think,” Eilidh argued, catching herself smiling. “I kissed him, it wasn’t even a real kiss. Anyway, it happened at the beginning of the year and we were practically forced into it.”  
“I wouldn’t say forced,” Marlene muttered.  
“I forced him,” Eilidh corrected, the familiar guilt returning to her.  
“He said he was into it, didn’t he?” Marlene argued.  
“Sort of,” Eilidh mumbled.  
“What do you mean sort of?” Mary asked.  
“He said that he was happy it happened-”  
“Exactly.”  
“But that he wished he had been the one to do it,” Eilidh pressed on despite Marlene’s insistence.  
“I see what you mean,” Mary murmured looking sympathetic. Marlene rolled her eyes and groaned dramatically.  
“He’s obviously not taking the initiative so why shouldn’t you be the one to do it. Maybe, by kissing him, you let him know that you want to be the one who sets the tone,” Marlene argued.  
“I have to agree with Eilidh on this one, Marls,” Mary said with an apologetic smile. Marlene scoffed and laid out on the bed. “I think that by kissing him first she might have tapped into his insecurities and that’s why he’s not taking the initiative.”  
“So she should what? Play damsel in distress to re-inflate his ego? Don’t waste your time with a guy like that,” Marlene waved her off. Eilidh felt horrible about it but she agreed with Marlene.  
“Don’t be so cruel. People are allowed to have insecurities,” Mary reasoned.  
Eilidh sighed and finally collapsed onto the bed between them. Marlene absentmindedly combed her fingers through Eilidh’s hair. Mary twisted her bracelet around in her fingers. Both seemed keen on staying quiet to let Eilidh think. Eilidh didn’t want to think right now. She wanted a distraction.  
“Mary, who’s your crush?” Eilidh asked, lightly, hoping she wouldn’t cause another issue. She could just blame it on suspicion.  
Marlene's combing paused shortly.  
“What do you mean?” Mary asked, her fingers no longer twisting around the beads.  
“Just asking,” Eilidh said softly.  
“You’ll see,” Mary said, her fingers resuming. Her answer only confused Eilidh more, but she didn’t press it.  
“And Marlene?” Eilidh asked, truly curious. Marlene hummed or groaned, it was hard to tell.  
“Everyone at Hogwarts is straight, thus I have a crush on a straight girl,” she admitted, her tone light, but her hands had gently clutched some of Eilidh’s hair.  
“Would you ever kiss her?” Eilidh asked.  
“That’s different. I know for sure she doesn’t want it,” Marlene argued.  
“But he didn’t want it either,” Eilidh whispered and even still her voice sounded weak.  
“Eilidh,” Marlene sounded exasperated as she sat up, propping herself up on her elbow. “You two were in a tough spot and you did what you had to to get out of it. If he really didn’t want it, he wouldn’t have asked you out, he wouldn’t have said that he wished he had been the one to do it. Stop worrying over nothing!”  
“Marls, you don’t understand. Purebloods are traditionalists. We’re so entitled and yet we have this obligation to each other. What if that’s what this is? What if he feels like he has to date me now because that’s what a proper gentleman would do?” Eilidh had grown loud, her voice thick and cracking, her hands stirred the air then collapsed, with a thud, against her stomach.  
“Then I’ll kick his arse,” Marlene said. Eilidh groaned and pressed her palms into her eyes until she saw stars. “All right, all right. I’m sorry.” Marlene pried her hands away and took hold of one. “I don’t think Sirius is like that. At all. If anything, he seems spiteful towards tradition. But, talk to him about this. Probably under the influence of a good calming draught.”  
Eilidh laughed and shook her head.  
“That is advice I can agree with,” Mary said, smiling at the pair.  
“I’ll probably ruin everything,” Eilidh laughed at herself, knowing how true it was. She had just ruined things with Lily and for sure with Josie.  
“I don’t think you’ll ruin it. If anything, it shows you care about him,” Mary said.  
“Oh, yeah, ‘sorry I assaulted you with my mouth. Let’s forget the whole thing ever happened’ is really heart-warming,” Eilidh said bitterly.  
“Please don’t say it like that,” Marlene implored.  
“I hope you’re not dating me out of obligation or to inflate your ego because I’d rather not waste my time?” Eilidh joked. Marlene threw Eilidh’s hand away but laughed. Mary grinned, shaking her head. Eilidh groaned and sat up. “I told them I would meet them in their dormitory.”  
“So go,” Marlene said. “And take some condoms with you.”  
Mary snorted.  
“For what?” Eilidh demanded.  
“For the orgie. Why else would you want to be alone with four men?” Marlene smirked, dancing over to their shared closet.  
“For the smell mostly,” Eilidh said matter-of-factly, her nose wrinkling at the remembered stench of stale socks and old food. She collapsed back onto the bed.  
“You have to face him sometime,” Mary said.  
“But it’s so much safer in here,” Eilidh groaned, rolling onto her feet. “I should have let my gran send me to the nunnery.”  
Marlene stuck her head out of the closet, grinning. “I’ll let you wear my dress that shows off your boobs.”  
“I don’t have boobs, Marlene.”  
“Yes you do, they’re just small,” Marlene’s voice came out muffled before she re-emerged from the closet. “But don’t worry, I can fix that too.”  
“Please, do not tell me you’re going to magically grow my breasts,” Eilidh implored, her voice hard.  
“Ever hear of make up, love?” Marlene smirked.  
“I don’t want to get dressed up just to hang out in their dormitory. Your dress will come back with a weird stain,” Eilidh argued.  
“You won’t look too dressed up. It’s just a summer dress.”  
“It’s almost December. In a drafty castle,” Eilidh said blankly and yet somehow still got corralled into sitting in front of Marlene’s mirror.  
“You’ll wear a coat and some tights. Oh, and those pink chucks?” Marlene signalled to Mary.  
“Those are awful,” Eilidh whined.  
“Hey!” Mary called indignantly  
“They’ll look perfect with the dress. And pink looks good on you,” Marlene complimented.  
“I don’t think we should use the tights,” Mary said with her head under her bed. "It'll make her look too short."   
Marlene mused over Eilidh’s chest. Eilidh sunk lower into the chair.  
“We’re gonna need Alice,” Marlene said finally.  
“Why? Why do we need Alice?”  
“Because Alice is an artist.” Marlene said simply, swooping out of the dormitory.   
Eilidh glared at Mary’s raised buttocks and contemplated dashing for the door. She would only be deemed childish if she did and she had already made a fool of herself enough for one day. Besides, there was nothing wrong with getting a little dressed up now and then. And if James teased her, she could rightfully hex him.


End file.
